ABO Blood Groups and the Risk of Venous Thromboembolism (VTE) Among Saudi Patients at a Tertiary Care Hospital in Riyadh

Background:

ABO blood types are scientifically proved to be associated with the risk of venous thromboembolism (VTE), but data is lacking in the Saudi population.

Aims:

We aimed to investigate the association between ABO blood types and VTE, to explore potential interactions between ABO blood type with sex and obesity status.

Methods:

This was a retrospective study with a total of 998 patients, who were admitted with venous thromboembolism at our tertiary care hospital, between January 2010 and January 2018. Demographic and clinical data were collected. We used chi-square tests to assess the association between ABO blood group and the development of VTE. It was decided that the test will be considered significant if the p-value is <0.05.

Results:

Out of 998 VTE patients, 506 of patients were excluded, because their ABO blood group was not tested. Therefore, 492 patients were qualified as study subjects, of whom 66% of patients had DVT, 23% of patients had pulmonary embolism. Most of them had provoked VTE. Female patients constituted the majority of the study subjects (82.5%). Sample distribution appeared that O blood group was present in 34.1% of all VTE patients, while non-O-blood groups were present in 66% of them. Overall, there was a non-significant difference between VTE in patients with non-O blood type compared to O blood type (p=0.268).

Conclusions:

Non-O-blood groups (A, B, AB) are the most common blood types in Saudi patients with VTE. There is no statistically significant association between ABO blood groups, gender, and obesity status.