Association of the BB genotype of the ABO gene with the risk of acute myocardial infarction in hospital-based study

Objectives: The ABO gene locus has been identified to be associated with myocardial infarction in patients with coronary heart disease. The primary focus of this hospital-based study was to explore the relationship of ABO blood groups and ABO genotypes with acute myocardial infarction (AMI) in Karachi, Pakistan.

Methods: In a comparative cross-sectional study, an equal number of adult AMI patients and healthy controls (n=275 in each group; age range 30-70 years, both males and females) were recruited from the Aga Khan University and NICVD, Karachi, with informed consent. The blood samples were analyzed for ABO blood groups and other biomarkers. PCR followed by RFLP techniques were employed for determining the ABO genotypes. Multinomial regression was used to evaluate the association of genotypes with the risk of AMI.

Results: Thirteen different combinations of ABO genotypes were observed while the O2O2 and A2A2 genotypes were not detected. No significant association based on the distribution of blood groups A, B, O and AB among AMI patients and healthy individuals was observed. The odds of AMI were 3.32 times in subjects with BB genotype as compared to subjects with OO genotypes after adjustment of age, gender, body mass index, heart rate, total cholesterol, and waist circumference [AOR (95% CI) =3.32 (1.36-8.08), p-value =0.008].

Conclusion: Our hospital-based study indicates that ABO genotype BB was significantly associated with the risk of AMI. This harmful effect of the BB genotype could have a possible relationship with AMI’s development in the Pakistani population.