There is a higher chance of stroke among people who belong to one of the type A blood groups, a research has found. According to the study, people who have type A blood group are likely to get stroke before the age of 60 years.
There are mainly four types of blood group: A, AB, B and O. The blood group of the person is determined by the genes inherited from the parents.
Each group can be either RhD positive or RhD negative, which means in total there are 8 blood groups.
In a study published last year, researchers found a relationship between the gene for the A1 subgroup and early onset stroke. The findings of the study was published in Neurology journal.
While conducting the study, the scientists compiled data from 48 genetic studies, which included roughly 17,000 people with a stroke and nearly 600,000 non-stroke controls. All participants were between 18 and 59 years of age.
Interestingly, a second analysis of specific types of the blood-type gene revealed that people whose genome coded for a variation of the A group had a 16 percent higher chance of a stroke as compared with a population of other blood types.
The scientists also found that people with a gene for group O1, the risk was lower by 12 percent.
However, vascular neurologist Steven Kittner from the University of Maryland who is the senior author of the study emphasised that they still don’t know why blood type A “would confer a higher risk.”
The study also found that people with type B blood were around 11 percent more likely to have a stroke compared to non-stroke controls regardless of their age.
Earlier studies have also pointed out that the genetic sequence for A and B blood types has a slightly higher risk of blood clots in veins, called venous thrombosis.
The scientists also maintained that there is a need for more follow-up studies to clarify the mechanisms of increased stroke risk.