Relationship between Helicobacter Pylori Infection and ABO Blood Group

Abstract

Background and Purpose: Despite the vast number of researches on the topic, it remains controversial whether there is a significant relationship between Helicobacter pylori and ABO blood groups. The aim of this study was to verify the incidence of seropositive Helicobacter pylori infection among patients with dyspepsia symptoms and to verify the frequencies of ABO blood groups in Helicobacter pylori seropositive patients. Methods: A prospective cross-sectional study based on purposive sampling was designed to include 50 Helicobacter pylori positive patients based on the positivity of fecal antigens in Nangarhar University Teaching Hospital from 4^th July 2019 to 20^th April 2020 and their blood group antigen typing was undertaken for ABO/Rh systems. Percentages and frequencies were considered for categorical variables while mean and standard deviation for continuous variables and further required statistical tests were pursed suing SPSS version 26 and the significance level was set at P < 0.05.  Results: The ABO blood group distribution of Helicobacter pylori positive patients was 26% (13/50), 24% (12/50), 10% (5/50), 40% (20/50) for blood group A, B, AB, and O respectively. There was an association (statistically significant for some variables) between sex (p<0.0028), use of NSAIDs (p<0.0013), smoking cigarette (p<0.040), alcohol consumption (p=0.062) and coffee (p=0.058). Conclusion: The study concludes that Helicobacter pylori infection has some relation with the ABO blood group. Although Helicobacter pylori positive patients appeared more in patients with blood group O than other group types, their association was not statistically significant.