The Correlation between ABO Blood Types and Alcoholic Liver Disease.

BACKGROUND

Since the discovery of ABO blood groups, there has been mounting evidence of the association between blood groups and diseases. However, so far, there is rarely available research about the potential role of ABO blood groups in alcohol liver disease (ALD). This study's aim was to investigate the relationship between ABO blood groups and the development of ALD in Qingdao, China.

METHODS

This experiment carried out a retrospective study enrolling 252 ALD patients as the case group and 373 healthy subjects as the control group. ABO blood group distribution was analyzed using the chi-squared test and logistic regression analysis.

RESULTS

Results showed that the distribution of ABO blood types between the two groups was significantly different (χ2 = 22.350, p < 0.05). Blood type O was less frequently observed [odds ratio (OR), 0.498; confidence interval (CI), 0.329 - 0.755; p < 0.05], while blood type AB was more frequently observed in the case group (OR, 2.550; CI, 1.589 - 4.092; p < 0.05).

CONCLUSIONS

The findings indicate that populations with blood type AB might be more prone to ALD, whereas those with blood type O might be less susceptible to ALD, which will help in the risk stratification in ALD control.