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@jack32 & @johnbishop I know John invited me in here for a reason - maybe because I always say "Stay tuned for further developments."
I am going to play the skeptic here - it's WAY too early to pay attention to any "preliminary studies." There are far more unknowns and speculations than facts, and even this week two early reports from The Lancet have been withdrawn pending further review. Because of the newness of this virus, there are no results available yet from unbiased, controlled studies done over a reasonable period of time and then peer-reviewed, which is the gold standard for research studies.
There are only reports of what has been observed in people who got the virus. The problem with those reports is that we still don't understand who is more likely to get the virus. We do have some indication that certain factors like age, obesity, and diabetes make complications from Covid-19 more likely if you get it. And there are indications that the closeness and duration of exposure make getting the virus more likely.
For now, when considering how much weigh to give any study, consider the following:
Is the study "observational" only, or is it an intentional, controlled study?
Where is it being reported, the general media or a scientific journal?
How many people or places does the study cover, and how many doctors/scientists/institutions not otherwise afiliated with one another are part of the study?
Are the same results being reported independently in multiple studies?
Was the study peer reviewed before publication?
For myself, I consider an observational study, not peer reviewed and reported in the media to be "not ready for prime time" and I await confirmation as outlined . If it is true that people with A+ blood get more complications, it will be further studied and reported. Or it may be determined that those people are more susceptiple to getting a certain disease or illness, and that underlying illness predisposes one to more severe Covid-19 or more complications.
The best strategy at this point is to do what John says and follow precautions based on your personal risk factors. Especially, wash your hands frequently and maintain social distance.
Sue
Replies to "@jack32 & @johnbishop I know John invited me in here for a reason - maybe because..."
@sueinmn- I agree wholeheartedly with you Sue. Unless there is a peer review (and they are usually very very tough) then it's all preliminary. In the meantime taking care to social distance, hand washing, and staying away from crowds should be a focus.
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Usually, I try to think about this more rationally. However, it's sometimes hard for me to do this for one being that I also have health anxiety and secondly I think I am blood group A. Also, my health anxiety becomes a bit worst after I was diagnosed with a DVT a few years ago that originally got misdiagnosed as a pulled muscle.
So, last night as I went to bed I read through some news to see if there was any good news and then the first thing that I come across in the headlines is that those with Blood Type A may be more susceptible to getting the virus as well needing treatment in hospitals according to pre-print studies. Now, I had already heard about another study that was done in China which showed a connection between blood types and coronavirus at the beginning of this outbreak. And I remember asking my Doctor about this study (which was a preliminary study by the way) and she told me not to worry too much because almost half of the country I'm in which is the UK is blood group A anyway while blood group O is marginally more common.
Anyway, As I said, I recently came across more preliminary studies (yet to be peer-reviewed) highlighted in some media articles. These studies involve countries such as Italy, Spain, Germany, Norway, USA, and Russia. Since reading this I have also been struggling to come across any reliable information by medical expert opinions on this so far. A lot of stuff I've come up with is garbage like eathis.com or eureka.com.
Moreover, according to some of these studies, those with blood group A may have a 50% higher risk of contracting the disease. While those with blood group O may have a 50 % low risk. Also, some theories and observations regarding why people with blood group A may have worse cases of the virus as well as my own thoughts include:
Cytokine Storms
Excessive Coagulation
It was six percent of the blood group A that become more ill.
It's not clear whether the genetic markers for this blood type made people more susceptible or actual blood type itself.
Almost all the patients in Russia are blood group A although their condition is pretty much stable right now.
Several of the other comorbidities associated with Covid-19 as a higher risk is also associated with have blood group A.
While blood group A is the second most common blood group it could be that more blood group A people were more exposed (my own thought).
This could just be a correlation and there is no causal factor here (my own thought).
Either the study or the media said that this could explain why some young people who others otherwise well are becoming seriously ill with the disease. However, it still is a rare occurrence and so can we really conclude that blood groups are playing a role in young and healthy people getting worse cases (a question of mine)?
What do we know about the people with blood group A that had the disease but only had mild cases or were asymptomatic? Did the studies only involve people that were in the hospital and not involve anyone of any blood group outside of the hospital? Is this perhaps coincidental? (Some more queries of mine).
If it is the blood group that is responsible then why? Is this because some people with this blood group are more likely to have cytokine storms or excessive coagulation that result in blood clotting as a result of being infected? Is excessive coagulation also a result of an over-reacting immune response? If this is the case then would that mean people with this blood group to be more susceptible to other infections such as Influenza? (More questions of mine)
Does this also explain why some people may get Anaphylaxis which I think is something to do with Cytokine Storms as well? Furthermore, does this also mean that those of us that are already on Anti-coagulants for the prevention of DVTs at reduced risk of having a bad case of Covid-19? (More questions of mine)