Non-O blood group tied to higher CAD, MI risk

(HealthDay)—Having non-O blood group may be an independent risk factor for coronary artery disease (CAD) and myocardial infarction, according to a meta-analysis published in the Sept. 1 issue of The American Journal of Cardiology.

Hisato Takagi, M.D., Ph.D., and Takuya Umemoto, M.D., Ph.D., on behalf of the All-Literature Investigation of Cardiovascular Evidence Group, conducted a literature review (January 2001 to March 2015) to identify case-control, cross-sectional, or cohort studies reporting adjusted odds ratios (ORs) and hazard ratios (HRs) for CAD in subjects with non-O versus O blood group.

The researchers included 12 relative risk estimates in 10 eligible studies. Based on pooled analysis, the non-O blood group was associated with a statistically significant 14 percent increase in CAD incidence compared to O blood group (OR/HR, 1.14). No evidence of significant publication bias was seen. When eight studies reporting data regarding (acute) myocardial infarction (MI) were pooled, similar statistically significant results unfavorable to the non-O blood group were seen (OR/HR, 1.16).

"In conclusion, we found that based on a meta-analysis of 10 studies enrolling a total of 174,945 participants, non-O blood group appears to be an independent risk factor for CAD and MI," the authors write.