{"id":1791,"date":"2022-03-25T09:28:43","date_gmt":"2022-03-25T09:28:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/linksus.net\/covid-19-severity-and-blood-group-is-there-a-link-medical-news-today\/"},"modified":"2022-03-25T09:28:43","modified_gmt":"2022-03-25T09:28:43","slug":"covid-19-severity-and-blood-group-is-there-a-link-medical-news-today","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/linksus2.linksus.net\/index.php\/2022\/03\/25\/covid-19-severity-and-blood-group-is-there-a-link-medical-news-today\/","title":{"rendered":"COVID-19 severity and blood group: Is there a link? – Medical News Today"},"content":{"rendered":"

All data and statistics are based on publicly available data at the time of publication. Some information may be out of date. Visit our <\/em>coronavirus hub<\/a> and follow our <\/em>live updates page<\/a> for the most recent information on the COVID-19 pandemic.<\/em>
In late 2019, scientists first identified SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. Since then, in the United States alone, there have been more than 79 million cases and over 950,000<\/a> deaths from the disease.
Most<\/a><\/hl-trusted-source> people who develop COVID-19 have mild to moderate symptoms, such as<\/a><\/hl-trusted-source> a fever, chills, shortness of breath, a sore throat, and a runny nose, and these resolve without special treatment. However, others have an increased risk<\/a><\/hl-trusted-source> of severe illness and death from COVID-19.
Often, people with severe COVID-19 require hospitalization with intensive care and ventilation.
Although this has not been conclusively proven, scientists believe that an overactive and abnormal immune response to SARS-CoV-2 may be responsible<\/a><\/hl-trusted-source> for the damage seen in severe COVID-19.
The immune system<\/a><\/hl-trusted-source> fights viruses, bacteria, fungi, and other foreign substances through innate and adaptive responses. When pathogens enter the body, the innate immune system releases white blood cells called leukocytes, as well as enzymes and natural killer cells<\/a> to target and kill the pathogens.
If the innate immune system cannot neutralize the pathogen, such as a virus, the adaptive immune system produces T lymphocytes, B lymphocytes, and antibodies, which specifically target the virus. They help the immune system\u2019s \u201cmemory,\u201d so it can respond quickly to future infections with the same virus.
Genetics influence the response of the innate immune system. And so, genetic differences may help explain why some people are more likely to develop severe COVID-19.
Previous research<\/a><\/hl-trusted-source> has identified relationships between different genetic factors, hospitalization, and the need for ventilation due to COVID-19.
Other studies have shown genetic variations between blood proteins modulating the immune response in healthy individuals.
This led the authors of the new study to turn to data from genome-wide association studies<\/a><\/hl-trusted-source>. They looked for blood proteins associated with the risk of hospitalization, the need for respiratory support, and death from severe COVID-19. <\/p>\n

The team has published its results in the journalPLOS Genetics<\/a>.<\/em>
Study co-author Dr. Alish Palmos<\/a>, from the Social, Genetic, and Developmental Psychiatry Research Centre at King\u2019s College London, explained to Medical News Today<\/em> that the researchers looked at thousands of proteins using Mendelian randomization.
\u201cMendelian randomization uses genetic variants associated with a trait, i.e., protein level, and measures their causal effect on disease outcomes, [avoiding] environmental confounding factors, such as lifestyle, being physically ill, etc.\u201d<\/strong>
After examining more than 3,000 blood proteins using a genetic tool, they found 14 proteins with causal effects, including the:
The researchers found that increased levels of ABO, C1GALT1C1, CD207, GCNT4, and RAB14 were associated with a 1.12 to 1.35 times greater risk of hospitalization, need for respiratory support, or death from COVID-19.
Higher levels of FAAH2 indicated a 1.19 times increased risk of hospitalization only.
Higher levels of the adhesion molecules PECAM-1, SELE, and SELL decreased the risk of hospitalization, need for respiratory support, or death from COVID-19 by 9\u201320%.
Increased ATP2A3, KEL, LCTL, and SFTPD were linked to decreased hospitalization risk, while higher levels of sICAM-1 were associated with a reduced risk of death or need for respiratory support.
Dr. Fady Youssef<\/a>, a pulmonologist, internist, and critical care specialist at Memorial Care Long Beach Medical Center, provided context for MNT<\/em>:
\u201cThis study offers some [ideas] about ways that we can [\u2026] better predict which patients will have a worse [\u2026] course and which patients are [\u2026] protected based on their genetics.\u201d
Dr. Palmos was surprised that the study did not show an association between \u201cclassic pro-inflammatory proteins,\u201d such as C-reactive protein or interleukin-6, and severe COVID-19. \u201cIt was also surprising to see such a consistent protective effect of adhesion molecules with severe COVID-19.\u201d
\u201cOur findings causally support many observational studies that have suggested endocannabinoids to be protective against severe illness and blood groups to be associated with increased risk of severe illness.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2013 Dr. Palmos
The strengths of the study included its design and use of Mendelian randomization. Weaknesses include the reliance on data from other studies, which could be subject to error despite quality control measures.
Dr. Palmos stated, \u201cClinical studies in patients would need to be carried out first to confirm our findings. One such study is the COVID-Clinical Neuroscience Study<\/a>, which is investigating the causes behind different aspects of COVID-19.\u201d
Dr. Youssef told MNT<\/em>, \u201cOnce you start applying [the data] widely, then you understand the [true] impact.\u201d He believes that this study \u201cadds another piece in that puzzle [\u2026] that would inform which interventions would be offered to patients depending on their risk profile.\u201d<\/strong>
A subvariant of Omicron called BA.2, which some refer to as the 'stealth variant,' has stirred public health experts' interests. Why is that, and\u2026<\/a>
Medical News Today looked at emerging research and spoke to top experts to learn about the possible link between COVID-19 and dementia risk.<\/a>
In this Snapshot feature, we look at what we know about symptoms of infection with Omicron, home treatments, and prevention measures.<\/a>
Vaccines train our immune system to fight future infections. In this feature, we highlight the different types of COVID-19 vaccines and explain how\u2026<\/a>
This Snapshot feature explains how DNA vaccines work, the differences between DNA and mRNA vaccines, and why DNA vaccines are so promising.<\/a>
OUR BRANDS<\/p>\n

source<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

All data and statistics are based on publicly available data at the time of publication. Some information may be out of date. Visit our coronavirus hub and follow our live updates page for the most recent information on the COVID-19 pandemic.In late 2019, scientists first identified SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. Since then, in […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":869,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/linksus2.linksus.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1791"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/linksus2.linksus.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/linksus2.linksus.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/linksus2.linksus.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/869"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/linksus2.linksus.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1791"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/linksus2.linksus.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1791\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/linksus2.linksus.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1791"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/linksus2.linksus.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1791"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/linksus2.linksus.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1791"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}