Medical researchers have long asked the question: Is there a connection between one’s blood type and autoimmune disease?
Clinical studies have had varied results, mostly due to the small sample sizes of each study. Though this area needs more research, this blog post will cover some of the research that has been published so far.
Study: Rheumatic Diseases and ABO Blood Types
A 2017 study in Turkey sought to find a link between particular blood types and the incidence of rheumatic disease. Rheumatic disease includes over 200 conditions that cause pain in your joints, connective tissue, tendons, and cartilage; many of these conditions are autoimmune diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis, Sjogren’s Syndrome, and systemic lupus erythematosus.
The researchers assessed 823 patients, with the following distribution of blood types: 42.5% patients had type A blood, 33.2% had type O blood, 15.4% had type B, and 8.9% had type AB. Each patient in the study had at least one of the following nine rheumatic diseases:
- Behçet’s disease
- Familial Mediterranean fever (FMF)
- Rheumatoid arthritis (RA)
- Spondyloarthropathy
- Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE)
- Systemic sclerosis (SSc)
- Sjogren’s syndrome (SjS)
- Undifferentiated connective tissue disease
- Vasculitis
Their study found that there was a significant difference in the distribution of blood types among those with rheumatic diseases. The most common autoimmune diseases among those with type A blood were: rheumatoid arthritis, spondyloarthropathy, vasculitis, Behçet’s disease, and undifferentiated connective tissue disease.
The most common autoimmune diseases among those with type O blood were: systemic lupus erythematosus, systemic sclerosis, and Sjogren’s syndrome. The researchers also noted that SLE, SSc and SjS are the connective tissue disorders frequently observed with antinuclear antibodies (ANA). The rheumatic disease familial Mediterranean fever was also found to be most common in those with type O blood.
Those with blood type AB were observed to be the least likely to suffer from rheumatic disease. However, it should be noted that type AB blood is also the most rare blood type in general, and represented the smallest amount of patients studied.
In addition, it was found that there was a significant difference in the distribution of Rh factor in rheumatic diseases. Of those with rheumatic diseases, 92.2% patients were Rh positive and only 7.8% patients were Rh negative. However, it should once again be noted that a positive Rhesus Factor (Rh+) is also more common among the general population than a negative Rhesus Factor (Rh-).
Is there a link between autoimmune disease and blood type?
So, if you have blood types A or O, does this mean you are more likely to get an autoimmune disease? The researchers who conducted this study concluded: “…we believe that the higher incidence of different rheumatic diseases in different blood types is associated with different genetic predispositions.”
In other words, since blood type is inherited (i.e. genetic), the results of the study point to a likely connection between certain genes and the increased predisposition for developing an autoimmune or rheumatic disease.
Do you know your blood type?
I, for one, do not know my own blood type. This is somewhat ironic, since I’ve undergone many blood tests as part of my Sjogren’s syndrome diagnosis, as well as for monitoring my liver enzyme levels while taking certain medications to control my autoimmune symptoms.
I actually did ask my primary care doctor what my blood type was the last time he ordered a test, and he advised that finding out your blood type is not a common part of the blood testing routine, and thus, he didn’t know what mine was.
If you have an autoimmune disease (or multiple diseases), and you know your blood type, comment below and let us know, are your condition and blood type consistent with the results of this study?
Autoimmune Warrior 
Vasculitis – granulomatosis Polyangiitis – type B+
Had a stroke, several DVT’s at the same time,
Major nerve pain
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Thanks Peter for your comment. I hope your health improves soon!
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Type O positive ankylosing spondylitis and psoriatic arthritis
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Thanks for sharing – sounds like there are a lot of type O blood patients with autoimmune diseases!
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Sjogren’s Syndrome – Type O+. My mum is A+ and had eczema.
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Thanks Courtney for your comment. I wonder if I have O type blood too since I also have Sjogren’s. I too have eczema.
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I have type O+ blood and have been diagnosed with Chronic Inflammatory Response Syndrome, Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, Sjogren’s Syndrome, and Lichen Sclerosus.
I recently tested positive for for HLA-DR gene, which causes a misprocessing of antigens, which in turn will inhibit the immune system from reacting correctly to infection and toxins. I definitely believe there is a genetic component.
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Hi,
Just a quick question, how do i get tested for the HLA-DR gene, please? As I have Granulomatosis with Polyangiitis and my granddad on my mother’s side did as well, so I was wondering if there is a genetic component that we could share.
Hoping your health improves
Kind regards
Peter
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Hi Peter, I purchased my HLA-DR testing through the Life Extension website, drawn at local LabCorp (per my doctor’s recommendation). It was about $275, unfortunately not covered by insurance, but useful data nonetheless. Thank you, and I hope that your health also improves!
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Thank you so much, that is really appreciated
Kindest regards
Pete
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You’re welcome!
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Thanks for your comment! As Peter mentioned below, I’d love to hear how/where you were able to access genetic testing, if you don’t mind sharing that information!
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Sjogren’s with type O+
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Interesting, I wonder if I have O+ blood too since I also have Sjogren’s!
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Rheumatoid arthritis with blood type A+.
So, yes, fits with this study’s findings.
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Thanks for commenting Wendy! Crazy how a lot of people are confirming what this study found.
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Yes, I have systemic sclerosis and blood type A negative
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Thanks Neha for your comment. It sounds like your blood type/condition are consistent with the study’s results!
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I am O+ and I have Grave’s disease and Axial spondyloarthritis.
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Thanks for sharing! Many people commenting here have type O blood and autoimmune disease, so it’s been interesting to read these comments!
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I was diagnosed with psoriasis and am O+.
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Thanks Shae for sharing, a few people have commented so far that they have O+ type blood and an autoimmune disease, so it’s interesting to hear this anecdotal evidence!
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I am O+ and have psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis as well.
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Thanks for sharing! I am shocked by all of the individuals with O type blood on the thread. I think it is the most common blood type but I am still surprised!
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Type A blood with multiple autoimmune diseases
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Thank you Sandy for sharing! A couple other people on this thread have also said they have Type A blood and autoimmune disease(s). Take care of yourself!
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O+ blood type with Lupus, avascular necrosis, osteoarthritis
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Thanks for sharing your blood type Adrienne! A few others on this thread also have O type blood with autoimmunity.
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I have ab negative blood type, have rheumatoid arthritis. Hope this is helpful.
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Thanks for sharing, Patricia! It’s definitely helpful for our blog readers to have a comparison.
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I have b positive and have primary bliary cholangitis.
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Thank you Janice for sharing! Take care and happy holidays ❤️
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My blood type is O- and I have Eosinophilic Gastroenteritis
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Thanks for sharing NS! Wishing you the best in your health journey.
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B Negative. Sjogrens Syndrome
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Thanks Andrea, I found out I’m AB+ and I also have Sjogren’s syndrome.
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I’m O+ with SLE!
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Thanks Elle for sharing, a lot of others in the comments have type O blood and an autoimmune disorder! It’s interesting to see the results.
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Type O+ with primary antiphospholipid antibody syndrome (which many SLE have secondarily). BTW: your blood type should be in your bloodwork already taken. It would be extremely rare for you to have a diagnosed disease without that being part of your bloodwork (even if they don’t associate it with a bloodtype).
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Thank you, I know my blood type now (it’s AB+)! There are a lot of others with Type O blood who have commented on this thread – thanks for sharing 🙂
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