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Do you know your blood type?
It is important information that is used for blood transfusions, but few realize blood types could also be linked to disease risks. In the general population, people with blood type O have been reported to have a lower risk of cardiovascular disease and cardiovascular mortality. Other non-cardiovascular conditions are also associated with ABO blood types, such as certain cancers and infectious diseases. However, these numbers do not take into consideration the population of hemodialysis patients who face higher risks than the general population.
Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death among dialysis patients, but its relationship to blood type has often been overlooked. To address this, a research group, led by Dr. Masafumi Kurajoh at Osaka Metropolitan University’s Graduate School of Medicine, conducted a large-scale prospective cohort study to examine whether the association between blood type and cardiovascular risk seen in the general population also exists in patients undergoing hemodialysis. The study included 1,671 patients receiving hemodialysis at 17 medical facilities in Osaka Prefecture. Participants' health was tracked for approximately five years, and the associations between ABO blood type and all-cause, cardiovascular, and non-cardiovascular mortality were analyzed.
