Investigating the Effect of Blood Groups on the Risk of Musculoskeletal Injuries: A Systematic Review

OBJECTIVE: Human blood groups classically are described: A, B, AB, and O, and the presence or absence of the Rh antigen on them plays an important role in determining these groups. Previous studies have examined the relationship between blood groups and metabolic diseases. However, no study has yet investigated the relationship between blood groups and musculoskeletal injuries, and this issue has not been fully clarified. This systematic review investigates the association between blood groups and the risk of musculoskeletal injuries. DATA SOURCES: This study was conducted according to the guidelines Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses. PubMed and Web of Science databases were searched and included in the present systematic review. The quality assessment tool for observational and cross-sectional cohort studies checked the articles' quality. MAIN RESULTS: A total of 12 cross-sectional studies were included in the present systematic review. The results showed that the amount of injury in people with different blood groups is different. For example, common fractures and osteoporosis were more in people with blood group A, and tendon injury was in people with blood group O. CONCLUSIONS: People with certain blood groups may be more prone to some musculoskeletal injuries.