Are people with blood group B more likely to develop type 2 diabetes?

The researchers found a higher risk of type 2 diabetes among individuals with blood group B as compared to other ABO blood groups. Therefore, they recommend frequent screening for T2DM in individuals with a high-risk profile and taking preventive measures that will reduce the risk of type 2 diabetes.

Type 2 diabetes is a chronic metabolic disorder with characteristics of elevated glucose levels in circulation caused due to insufficient insulin or insulin resistance. An individual's blood group is thought to be genetically predetermined and plays an important role in increasing susceptibility to diabetes mellitus (DM) for particular blood groups. Therefore, Muluken Walle, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, Jigjiga University, Jigjiga, Ethiopia, and colleagues aimed to determine the association between ABO and Rhesus blood groups with type 2 diabetes.

For this purpose, the researchers conducted a comparative cross-sectional study on 326 participants (163 patients with type 2 diabetes and 163 sex and age-matched health individuals). A semi-structured questionnaire was used to collect socio-demographic data and clinical data was extracted from the patient chart.

For ABO and Rhesus blood grouping, a blood sample was collected from each study participant. The association between different blood group types and type 2 diabetes was also determined.

The study led to the following findings:

• Blood group O had the highest frequency among all study participants followed by blood groups B, A, and AB.
• Blood groups B and A were more common in the type 2 DM group compared with the control group while blood groups O and AB were more frequent in the control group.
• A chi-square test indicated that the ABO blood group had a significant association with type 2 DM while the Rhesus blood group was not associated with type 2 DM.
• Logistic regression analysis showed that B and O blood groups had a significant association with type 2 DM while A and AB blood groups had no association.

"The study findings indicate that T2DM has an association with the ABO blood group and has no association with the Rh blood group," the researchers wrote.

They added, "There is a need for further pathophysiological studies to determine why individuals with certain blood types are at a higher risk of diabetes development."

"Large community-based studies with large sample sizes are suggested by considering variables related to lifestyle and approval of rigorous testing to determine the control group," they concluded.

Reference:

Walle, Muluken MSca,*; Tesfaye, Addisu MSca; Getu, Fasil MSca. The association of ABO and Rhesus blood groups with the occurrence of type 2 diabetes mellitus: A comparative cross-sectional study. Medicine 102(35):p e34803, September 01, 2023. | DOI: 10.1097/MD.0000000000034803