ABO Blood Groups and the Incidence of Complications in COVID-19 Patients: A Population-Based Prospective Cohort Study

Domènech-Montoliu, Salvador; Puig-Barberà , Joan; Pac-Sa, Maria Rosario; Vidal-Utrillas, Paula; Latorre-Poveda, Marta; Rio-González, Alba Del; Ferrando-Rubert, Sara; Ferrer-Abad, Gema; Sánchez-Urbano, Manuel; Aparisi-Esteve, Laura; Badenes-Marques, Gema; Cervera-Ferrer, Belén; Clerig-Arnau, Ursula; Dols-Bernad, Claudia; Fontal-Carcel, Maria; Gomez-Lanas, Lorna; Jovani-Sales, David; León-Domingo, Maria Carmen; Llopico-Vilanova, Maria Dolores; Moros-Blasco, Mercedes; Notari-Rodríguez, Cristina; Ruíz-Puig, Raquel; Valls-López, Sonia; Arnedo-Pena, Alberto

After a COVID-19 outbreak in the Falles festival of Borriana (Spain) during March 2020, a cohort of patients were followed until October 2020 to estimate complications post-COVID-19, considering ABO blood groups (ABO). From 536 laboratory-confirmed cases, 483 completed the study (90.1%) carried by the Public Health Center of Castelló and the Emergency and Microbiology and Clinical Analysis of Hospital de la Plana Vila-real. The study included ABO determination and telephone interviews of patients. The participants had a mean age of 37.2 ± 17.1 years, 300 females (62.1%). ABO were O (41.4%), A (45.5%), B (9.1%), and AB (3.9%). We found no difference in the incidence of COVID-19 infections. A total of 159 (32.9%) patients reported one or more post-COVID-19 complications with divergent incidences after adjustment: O (32.3%), A (32.6%), B (54.1%), and AB (27.6%); B groups had more complications post-COVID-19 when compared with O group (adjusted relative risk [aRR] 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.68, 95% CI 1.24–2.27), and symptoms of fatigue (1.79, 95% CI 1.08–2.95), myalgia (2.06, 95% CI 1.10–3.84), headache (2.61, 95% CI 1.58–4.31), and disorder of vision (4.26 95% CI 1.33–13.60). In conclusion, we observed significant differences in post-COVID-19 complications by ABO, with a higher incidence in B group. Additional research is justified to confirm our results.