ABO blood groups and risk for obesity in Arar, Northern Saudi Arabia

By: Nagah M Aboel-Fetoh, Arwa R Alanazi, Abdullah S Alanazi, Asma N Alruwili

Abstract

Introduction: ABO blood groups are associated with some important chronic diseases. Previous studies have observed an association between ABO blood group and risk for obesity.

Objective: This study aimed to determine whether there is an association between ABO blood groups and obesity in apparently healthy attendees of primary healthcare (PHC) centers in Arar city, Northern Saudi Arabia.

Participants and methods: This cross-sectional study included 401 participants aged 15 years and older attending three randomly selected PHC centers in Arar city. Data were collected by means of personal interview using a predesigned questionnaire. Anthropometric examination included height and weight measurements with calculation of BMI. ABO and Rh blood groups were determined.

Results: The majority of the participants were female (70.8%). The mean±SD age was 28.6±9.1 years. Only 5.7% were underweight. Both normal and overweight participants were equal in number and constituted 28.4%, whereas obese individuals constituted 37.4% with a mean BMI of 28.56±8.0. Blood group O was the most common (44.1%), followed by A (30.9%), B (18.7%), and AB (6.2%). Rh-positive cases constituted 87.0%. Blood group O was the most common type among the obese individuals (44.7%), followed by A, B, and AB groups (30, 20, and 5.3%, respectively). BMI was highest (28.8±9.2) in blood group O. There were no statistically significant differences between different ABO blood groups as regards BMI, Rh, and sex. Moreover, there was no statistically significant difference between Rh type and BMI.

Conclusion: The prevalence of obesity and overweight is high in the population attending PHC centers of Arar city, Northern Saudi Arabia. There is no association between overweight, obesity, and ABO blood groups or Rh.