ABO Blood Group System: Its Association with Anthropometric Indices among Young Adults of Yoruba Ethnicity

Introduction: The ABO blood group system is unique in immunology and haematology because it is the only system in which antibodies are consistently and predictably present in the serum of normal individuals whose red cells lack the antigens. Several epidemiological studies have reported that the distribution of different ABO blood groups vary markedly among the populations of different geographical areas reflecting racial differences.

Aims: The aim of this study was to determine the association between ABO blood group and anthropometric indices among apparently healthy young adults of Yoruba ethnicity.

Study Design: This is a cross-sectional descriptive study.

Place and Duration of Study: The study was carried out at Department of Physiological Sciences and University Health Centre, Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife between May 2016 to June 2017.

Methodology: Eighty apparently healthy young adults who were purposely selected participated in the study after screening for the ABO blood groups following the standard protocol. They were divided into four equal groups; 20 in each of blood groups A, B, AB and O who were age- and sex - matched. The weight (kg) and height (cm) of the participants were measured following standard protocol. Body mass index (BMI) and body surface area (BSA) were estimated from weight and height using Quetelex and Mosteller formulae respectively. Chi-square was used to compare grouped data while the comparison of means of parameters among the four blood groups was done using Analysis of Variance (ANOVA). A p-value of < 0.05 was taken statistically significant.

Results: Out of the total 80 participants, 15% were males. The mean ± SD of height(m) of participants with blood groups A, B, O and AB were 1.65 ± 0.06, 1.63 ± 0.08, 1.62 ± 0.08 and 1.63 ± 0.08 (F= 0.349, p= 0.790) respectively. The mean ± SD of weight(kg) of the participants with blood group A,B, O and AB were 56.15 ± 8.71, 56.00 ± 11.21, 57.10 ± 12.73 and 58.05 ± 10.35 (F= 0.154, p= 0.927) respectively. The mean ± SD of BMI in kg/m2 for blood groups A, B, O and AB were 20.74 ± 3.22, 20.86 ± 2.91, 21.79 ± 5.10 and 21.91 ± 4.21 (F= 0.472, p= 0.703) respectively while the mean ± SD of BSA (m2) for blood group A, B, O and AB were 1.60 ± 0.12, 1.59 ± 0.19, 1.60 ± 0.18 and 1.62 ± 0.15 (F= 0.098, p= 0.961) respectively.

Conclusion: AB Blood group may be predisposed to metabolic syndrome due to the higher mean of weight, BSA and BMI found in this group.