Blood type is determined based on a person’s genetic makeup, through A, B or H antigens on the surface of red blood cells, and is divided into four types: A, B, AB and O, with a positive or negative subclassification.
The study was conducted on more than 1,200 people, including 114 patients diagnosed with autoimmune liver disease. The results showed that blood type A was the most common among patients with chronic liver disease, followed by blood types O, B, and AB.
These chronic diseases include various conditions, including autoimmune hepatitis, in which the immune system directly attacks the liver, leading to damage and eventual failure, and primary biliary hepatitis (PBC), which attacks the bile ducts in the liver, causing bile buildup, liver scarring, and cirrhosis.
These diseases do not always show clear symptoms; some patients may suffer from bone and joint pain, itchy skin, dry eyes and mouth, and abdominal pain, while in others the disease is discovered by chance during a routine blood test.
Dr. Yi Hong, an expert in transfusion medicine at Xi'an Gaoxin Hospital and the lead author of the study, said: "People with blood type A are more likely to develop primary hepatitis compared to those with blood types AB and O."
The study indicated that blood type A was the most common among patients with both autoimmune hepatitis and primary biliary hepatitis, while blood type B was the least likely to develop primary biliary hepatitis.
Researchers attribute these differences in part to genetic antigens associated with blood type A, which may increase the risk of developing autoimmune liver diseases, in addition to other factors such as sex and age, as females have been shown to be more susceptible than males, and the risk increases with age.
Experts emphasize that autoimmune liver diseases differ from liver problems related to alcohol or obesity, as the damage originates from a malfunction in the immune system itself. These diseases may be associated with other conditions affecting the immune system, such as type 1 diabetes and multiple sclerosis, but many patients remain healthy.
In advanced cases, liver cirrhosis leads to organ failure, and liver transplantation becomes the only solution, but the number of donors is limited compared to the patients who need it.
The study was published in the journal Frontiers in Medicine.
