ABO phenotype and clinical correlates of COVID-19 severity in hospitalized patients

This study investigates the association between ABO blood phenotype and COVID-19 severity, measured by intensive care unit admission, need for intubation, hospitalization length and death. It further explores clinical predictors of COVID-19 severity within a primarily Hispanic demographic in San Diego County. We retrospectively reviewed 942 total patients, 473 with available blood type, hospitalized at five Scripps Health hospitals with COVID-19. No significant association was found between ABO phenotype and COVID-19 severity on multivariate analysis, while a diagnosis of anemia and male sex was associated with all severity outcomes on exploratory analysis. Our results provide relevant clinical correlates of COVID-19 severity and help better elucidate the association between ABO phenotype and COVID-19. In patients diagnosed with COVID-19, identifying those at increased risk for morbidity and mortality is imperative given the wide spectrum of clinical disease manifestations. Emerging evidence supports an association between ABO blood phenotype and COVID-19 disease susceptibility, with additional studies suggesting that certain blood types may augment and/or suppress disease progression. We retrospectively reviewed 942 hospitalized patients in San Diego County with COVID-19 and found no significant association between ABO blood group type and severity outcomes after accounting for confounding variables. Furthermore, a diagnosis of anemia and male sex was universally associated with all COVID-19 severity outcomes on exploratory analyses.