The Relationship Between Blood Group and Type 2 Diabetes

Background and objectives: Diabetes is a chronic and progressivedisease resulting in disability and premature death. The Etiology ofdiabetes mellitus is complex, but factors such as genetic,immunological and environmental are involved .The aim of this studywas to investigate the association between diabetes and blood type.Material and Methods: In this cross - sectional study, the bloodgroup of 500 patients with diabetes type 2 was determined andcompared with the distribution of blood groups in 11,461 healthypeople in Ahwaz. Statistical analysis was performed by independent Ttest, using SPSS Software (version 17)Results: the Patients’ age is between 35 and 80 years. Their Bloodgroups are A (106; 20.3 %) B (144; 27.5%) AB (97; 18.5%) andO(176; 32.7%). One hundred seventy-nine (34.2%) cases are Rh+ andthe rest (344; 65.8 %) Rh- .Conclusion: Regarding to the distribution of blood group AB andRh- ,which respectively are 7.3% and 8.4%, the chance of developingdiabetes in theses people is higher than that in other people(P<0.05). Hence, they should follow a healthy lifestyle from earlyyears of life to reduce the risk of diabetes.Key words: Diabetes type 2, Blood group, Risk factors