Summary: According to a new study, people with blood type A are more likely to suffer a stroke before the age of 60 than those with the more common blood type O.
Source: University of Maryland
A person’s blood type may be linked to their risk of having an early stroke, according to a new meta-analysis by researchers at the University of Maryland School of Medicine (UMSOM).
The results were published today in the journal Neurology.
The meta-analysis included all available data from genetic studies focusing on ischemic stroke, which is caused by a blockage of blood flow to the brain, occurring in young adults under the age of 60.
“The number of people suffering from an early stroke is increasing. These people are more likely to die from the life-threatening event, and survivors potentially face decades of disability. Despite this, there is little research on the causes of early strokes,” said study co-lead investigator Steven J. Kittner, MD, MPH, professor of neurology at UMSOM and neurologist at the Medical Center of the University of Maryland.
He and his colleagues conducted the study by performing a meta-analysis of 48 genetics and ischemic stroke studies that included 17,000 stroke patients and nearly 600,000 healthy controls who had never had stroke. Stroke.
They then examined all the chromosomes collected to identify genetic variants associated with stroke and found a link between early stroke – occurring before the age of 60 – and the area of the chromosome that includes the gene that determines whether a group blood is A, AB, B or O.
The study found that people with early stroke were more likely to have blood type A and less likely to have blood type O (the most common blood type) – compared to people with stroke late and people who have never had a stroke. Both early and late strokes were also more likely to have blood type B than controls.
After adjusting for gender and other factors, the researchers found that people with blood type A had a 16% higher risk of having an early stroke than people with other blood types. Those with blood group O had a 12% lower risk of having a stroke than people with other blood groups.
“Our meta-analysis looked at people’s genetic profiles and found associations between blood type and early stroke risk. The association of blood type with late onset stroke was much weaker than what we found with early stroke,” said study co-lead investigator Braxton D. Mitchell, PhD, MPH, professor of medicine at UMSOM.
The researchers stressed that the increased risk was very modest and that people with type A blood should not worry about having an early stroke or engage in additional screening or medical tests based on this finding.
“We still don’t know why blood type A would confer a higher risk, but it likely has something to do with blood clotting factors like platelets and the cells that line blood vessels as well as other circulating proteins. , all of which play a role in the development of blood clots,” Dr. Kittner said.
Previous studies suggest that people with blood type A have a slightly higher risk of developing blood clots in the legs, known as deep vein thrombosis.
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“We clearly need more follow-up studies to clarify the mechanisms of increased stroke risk,” he added.
In addition to Dr. Kittner and Dr. Mitchell, UMSOM faculty involved in this study included Huichun Xu, MD, PhD, associate professor of medicine; Patrick F. McArdle, PhD, associate professor of medicine; Timothy O’Connor, PhD, associate professor of medicine; James A. Perry, PhD, assistant professor of medicine; Kathleen A. Ryan, MPH, MS, statistician; John W. Cole, MD, professor of neurology; Marc C. Hochberg, MD, MPH, professor of medicine; O. Colin Stine, PhD, professor of epidemiology and public health; and Charles C. Hong, MD, PhD, Melvin Sharoky MD Professor of Medicine.
A limitation of the study was the relative lack of diversity among the participants. The data comes from the Early Onset Stroke Consortium, a collaboration of 48 different studies in North America, Europe, Japan, Pakistan and Australia. About 35% of participants were of non-European ancestry.
“This study raises an important question that requires further investigation into how our genetically predetermined blood type may play a role in early stroke risk,” said Mark T. Gladwin, MD, executive vice president of business. Medical, UM Baltimore, and the John Z. and Akiko K. Bowers Professor Emeritus and Dean of the University of Maryland School of Medicine. “This underscores the urgent need to find new ways to prevent these potentially devastating events in young adults.”
Funding: The study was supported by the National Institutes of Health and the Department of Veterans Affairs. Researchers from more than 50 institutions around the world were co-authors of this study.
About this stroke research news
Author: Deborah Kotz
Source: University of Maryland
Contact: Deborah Kotz – University of Maryland
Image: Image is in public domain
Original research: The findings will appear in Neurology