Blood groups: Does anyone else know what blood... - Thyroid UK

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Blood groups

Fanfeck profile image
68 Replies

Does anyone else know what blood group they are? I read an article today, saying type O plus (my group) are more disposed to getting thyroid disorders. Just wondered if anyone else has ever heard of this.

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Fanfeck profile image
Fanfeck
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68 Replies
SeasideSusie profile image
SeasideSusieRemembering

Fanfeck

I am blood type O Rh Positive and I have hypothyroidism.

This article discusses "An Investigation why Blood Type O's get Hashimoto's".

I don't have Hashi's.

Do you have a link to the article you've read?

Fanfeck profile image
Fanfeck in reply toSeasideSusie

Sorry no, I was just reading through why we have different blood groups, and saw this and thought I’d ask. Thanks for the link to the poll, quite interesting 👍

SeasideSusie profile image
SeasideSusieRemembering in reply toFanfeck

It would help if I put the link to the article I mentioned :D

brodynd.com/hashimotos-bloo...

greygoose profile image
greygoose

It crops up occasionally. I think, actually, it was one of the polls on here… But I can't find it. Hopefully someone else will come along with a link. :)

Oh, and I'm A+, by the way.

in reply togreygoose

I am also A+ and hypo.

I remember some time ago reading that A blood group people are descended from Asian vegetable farmers........interesting. How far back must that go?

I definitely prefer more vegetables than meat. It said that O blood group types prefer meat .My husband was O + and a big meat eater.

ffranny profile image
ffranny in reply to

I am A positive

greygoose profile image
greygoose in reply to

Hmmmm…. Depends on the vegetable and how it's cooked! And, it depends on the meat. Sometimes I have cravings for meat, but I never have cravings for veggies!

in reply togreygoose

Yes I guess that could throw up a lot of discussion.

However, for many years I have steamed my vegetables believing it to be the best way to retain the vitamins and not over cook them. They taste much better to me.

greygoose profile image
greygoose in reply to

I hate steamed veggies. You cannot use salt in the cooking, that way. And, for me, salt is essential in the cooking, because I don't like putting salt on my food once it's cooked. With steaming, the salt doesn't get into the vegetables. Best way, for me, to cook any veggie, is in a little oil, with salt. Unless you're making it into soup, and that's a whole nother story! lol

bookish profile image
bookish in reply to

Peter D'Adamo in the Eat Right for your Type books says type As flourish on a vegetarian diet and type Os on animal protein. Probably rubbish but he said type Os don't get on well with gluten and dairy and I'm certainly better without both (read book after change of diet).

in reply tobookish

Thanks for that bookish.I would agree that I feel better eating mostly vegetables and only a small amount of meat.I will try to get the book to read.It might further help me too.

DebTex profile image
DebTex in reply to

I’m A+ also and I also prefer vegetables more and very little meat.

DebTex profile image
DebTex in reply toDebTex

I have Hashimoto’s.

Greekchick profile image
Greekchick

Fanfeck,

I have seen conflicting studies - one in 1982 says that hyperthyroid patients have type O and hypothyroid patients have type A; a 2015 study says the opposite. I myself am O Rh negative and was hyperthyroid.

1982:

ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/710...

2015:

researchgate.net/publicatio...

My feeling is the science is not definitive on this. I have also seen blogs by those with commercial interests that claim blood types are related to thyroid disease, but I don’t consider those necessarily valid.

Hennerton profile image
Hennerton in reply toGreekchick

I am O rhesus Neg and was hyperthyroid until Thyroidectomy. It would certainly be interesting to know more about this possible link.

Greekchick profile image
Greekchick in reply toHennerton

Do you have Graves also? I had a TT 5 months ago for toxic multinodular goiter plus Graves.

Hennerton profile image
Hennerton in reply toGreekchick

Sorry, yes. Should have said that. Very high thyroid levels when eventually diagnosed but it took my various GPs months to think of an answer to all my symptoms. Sigh!

Caroline888 profile image
Caroline888

I haven’t seen anything about this but, just to add my two-penny worth, I am hypo with antibodies and my blood type is A positive.

Boohbette17 profile image
Boohbette17 in reply toCaroline888

So am I !! thats my 2 penny worth

Tam1394 profile image
Tam1394 in reply toCaroline888

I am A+ and RH neg thyroid ca so it was removed and didn’t know I had Hashimoto ‘s until it was removed.

SeasideSusie profile image
SeasideSusieRemembering

Here's the poll greygoose

healthunlocked.com/thyroidu...

I wasn't a member of the forum then, you have a good memory!

greygoose profile image
greygoose in reply toSeasideSusie

Thank you, Susie. I looked through the polls but couldn't find it. Don't know why it stuck in my memory. :)

Lora7again profile image
Lora7again

I'm B positive which I am trying to be after reading my medical records on line😺

Elsa1509 profile image
Elsa1509

Hi Fanfeck. I am 0 Negative blood group and have a multinodular thyroid gland and Hashimotos (I swing between hyper and hypo but generally more hyper) so nothing definitive at the moment !

Petalrugbaba profile image
Petalrugbaba

I am A Rh (D) Negative and hypothyroid

Mickeydooley profile image
Mickeydooley in reply toPetalrugbaba

I’m A negative too! Hypo.

madgewildfire profile image
madgewildfire

I am B Negative and I seem to be alone so far,

McPammy profile image
McPammy in reply tomadgewildfire

I’m B negative too.

Not a lot of us!

I’m hypo and DIO2 positive by one parent.

Tikaneko profile image
Tikaneko

I am ab neg and hypothyroidism,interesting thoughts. Worth a research. Thanks

Angel_of_the_North profile image
Angel_of_the_North in reply toTikaneko

Very few of you around. My cousin is AB- (and not hyper or hypo)

Tikaneko profile image
Tikaneko in reply toAngel_of_the_North

We are special!!!!

Caterer profile image
Caterer

I am B neg as well and have hypothyroidism.

TedHutch profile image
TedHutch

Investigation of blood groups in benign thyroid diseases

in Turkey

jstage.jst.go.jp/article/en...

Free full text pdf downloads from link above.

Here is the abstract

Abstract. 

İt is known that there is a relationship between some diseases and blood groups. The objective of our study is to investigate how often ABO and Rh blood groups are seen in benign thyroid diseases, especially in autoimmune-mediated thyroid diseases, and hence whether there is an association between blood groups and thyroid diseases. A total of 958 patients who were followed due to any benign thyroid disease were included in the study. The study population comprised 958 patients, 550 with Hashimoto’s hypothyroidism, 160 with non-Hashimoto’s hypothyroidism, 103 with iatrogenic hypothyroidism, 93 with central hypothyroidism, and 28 with Graves’ and 24 with non-Graves’ hyperthyroidism. Of the patients, 47.1% belonged to the O blood group, 30% to the A blood group, 15.2% to the B blood group, and 7.7% to the AB blood group while 90% were Rh-positive. The ratio of those with the O blood group was determined to be significantly higher in the Hashimoto’s hypothyroidism group compared to the other disease groups. In the non-Hashimoto’s hypothyroidism group, however, the ratio of the AB blood group was statistically significantly higher. While autoimmune diseases were more common in those with the O blood group, they were significantly lower in the AB blood group (p < 0.001). In our study, we determined that the ratio of the O blood group was significantly higher among patients with hypothyroidism due to Hashimoto’s thyroiditis. These findings imply that there might be a relation between O blood group and Hashimoto’s ihyroiditis.

Angel_of_the_North profile image
Angel_of_the_North in reply toTedHutch

Hmm AB+ central hypo.

beesting1966 profile image
beesting1966 in reply toAngel_of_the_North

I'm AB+ hyperthyroidism and Graves

bookish profile image
bookish in reply toTedHutch

Interesting, thank you. Peter D'Adamo in the Eat Right for your Type books says that type Os have a tendency to have low levels of thyroid hormone but goes on to say it is because of often having insufficient iodine (!) I too am O.

vocalEK profile image
vocalEK in reply toTedHutch

I'd be interested in learning how their medical treatment caused those cases of iatrogenic hypothyroidism.

strawberryflower profile image
strawberryflower

A positive, hypo.

miss-jo profile image
miss-jo

I'm A positive and hypo

Jivedancer profile image
Jivedancer

I'm O RH negative never heard of a connection between that and hypothyroidism which I have got might do a bit of research on it!

Lucky14 profile image
Lucky14

I am B neg as well and have hypothyroidism also.

Lovecake profile image
Lovecake

My sister and I are both A negative and hypo (Hashi’s).

Kittylitter2 profile image
Kittylitter2

I have not heard of this, but I havn't read much on thyroid, I'm B+

Kacey12 profile image
Kacey12

Have never heard of this before but very interesting. I am both hypothyroid and A+, as was my father.

Well, considering that type O blood is the most common so there are more people with O than any other, of course there will a higher percentage with thyroid disorders even IF the percentage is constant across the whole population. So not very useful really. I'm AB+

Greekchick profile image
Greekchick in reply toAngel_of_the_North

That was my feeling too, particularly when I saw the various studies - and there are some specious blogs that proport to know this relationship as well but don't provide any evidence to support their claims.

overunbykids profile image
overunbykids

A positive and hypo (Hashi's).

nightingale-56 profile image
nightingale-56

I am O positive and hypothyroid after sub-total for Graves .

0+ and Hashi's.

Just wondering though, what are the proportions of the different blood groups in the general population? Do the studies account for that? It could just be that the O group is more common altogether!

helvella profile image
helvellaAdministrator in reply to

The proportions vary around the world / across genetic backgrounds.

Could always have a look here:

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blood...

But don't take the figures as accurate - there are many questions over them. But it does give some idea of what might be.

I agree with Angel_of_the_North. The O (which btw should read ‘zero’) is more prevalent, so this sort of correlation must take that into account or it will be of little value.

The interesting thing is that the A, B and Rh antigens (proteins on the surface of human blood cells) have co-evolved with all sorts of microorganisms and there’s positive correlation between these, such as type 0 are more susceptible to Helicobacter pylori infection.

It is very likely that autoimmune diseases have some sort of correlation to these antigens (and the corresponding antibodies anti-A and anti-B) or the lack of them (type 0), but a lot more research is needed, because there are probably many other factors at play.

samaja profile image
samaja

0 rh + here

I may be wrong but if I remember correctly my reading type 0 blood group is the oldest one in evolutionary terms so it would probably make the largest proportion in the overall population. It's also supposed to digest meat best and can be used in emergencies for transfusions for other blood groups. In some countries it was compulsory to have your blood type tested when you got your driving license for this information to be included in the document.

in reply tosamaja

I don’t think this info is based on evidence. Actually, the 0 type has no A or B antigen because of a mutation in the gene encoding these antigens so it has emerged later on in Evolution.

I also don’t think that the correlation between blood type and diet has strong evidence, because it’s mostly based on human evolution as hunter-gatherers being the most ‘primitive’ 0 blood type, which is not scientifically accurate for the reason explained above.

I agree it’s very important to know your own blood type, I have this information included in my ID. Bear in mind though that not all 0 types are ‘universal donors’, the Rh antigen is also important. Nowadays a lot of blood type subgroups are recognised and this info is available in hospitals before transfusion treatment.

helvella profile image
helvellaAdministrator in reply to

The main NHS website says:

The ABO system

There are four main blood groups defined by the ABO system:

blood group A – has A antigens on the red blood cells with anti-B antibodies in the plasma

blood group B – has B antigens with anti-A antibodies in the plasma

blood group O – has no antigens, but both anti-A and anti-B antibodies in the plasma

blood group AB – has both A and B antigens, but no antibodies

Blood group O is the most common blood group. Almost half of the UK population (48%) has blood group O.

nhs.uk/conditions/blood-gro...

That is, very clearly letter "O" - not zero. Why do you say it is zero? Or, even more confusingly, you are apparently supposed to say "O" as zero?

in reply tohelvella

The ‘Oh’ spelling was a mistake that has been perpetuated in common literature.

The lack of antigens, thus ‘zero’ is the hallmark of the O/0 blood type. It’s not important for the population to know that, but it’s more accurate, scientifically speaking.

samaja profile image
samaja in reply to

I had a quick look on the internet and at cursory glance it appears there is still no definitive answer which blood group evolved first and there are at least three different hypothesis about the staging although there might have been a common ancestor for both humans and apes with regard to blood as well.

I know 0 is not a universal donor and that's why I said in emergencies and not of the hospital type for sure.

Blood is actually a fascinating subject and there is still a lot we don't know about it 8-)

in reply tosamaja

If you have a deeper look you will see that it’s complicated, but very logical that a loss of function mutation is the most likely event that has occurred to explain the origin of the ‘null’ blood type, therefore the A antigen is likely to be the most ancient. These are probabilities, not undisputable truth.

Genetics is really fascinating 😁

in reply tosamaja

I don't believe in Evolution ;-)

0 is due to the LOSS of antigens, so it can't be evolution. We "0s" are degenerate mutants, lol :-D

Though I read an amazing article about the malaria parasite. It can apparently withdraw its surface antigens when it is sneaking between blood cells, so the immune system doesn't recognise them

in reply to

Evolution is not religion, thank goodness 😅

Mutations don’t have purpose. They simply occur, because DNA replication is not a miraculous thing, it is prone to error. What will ‘decide’ if a mutation is beneficial or detrimental is the almighty environment and the extent to which the mutation affects reproduction and consequently the transmission of the mutation to the offspring.

0 mutant myself 😁

Angel_of_the_North profile image
Angel_of_the_North in reply to

Yeah. To "evolve" a mutation has to do something that makes it appear again in the next generation, and the next and so on

in reply toAngel_of_the_North

Not always! Most mutations are kept ‘hidden’ because they don’t affect anything or too little to cause reproductive issues, most are ‘recessive’ meaning the other gene of the pair (allele) is enough to keep functional proteins and so the mutation can carry on for generations without any problems, but once the environment changes they can become advantageous or if by chance they encounter a mutant pair, disease strikes.

Angel_of_the_North profile image
Angel_of_the_North in reply to

I don't mean that it that it do something positive, just that it had to survive and be passed to future generations - that might mean being recessive enough not to kill you.

in reply toAngel_of_the_North

Ah yes, sorry I misunderstood you. 😬🤗

purple64 profile image
purple64

A RH negative hyper with graves

Benadrove5 profile image
Benadrove5

Hi i’m O resus negative

jazz62 profile image
jazz62

O neg with underactive thyroid. I think 15% of population are Rh-. As said before far from scientific but proportionately more of us replying to this post seem to be RH neg.

I think O neg blood may be universal donors. I only found out my blood group as was written tp and asked to donate as hospital short of blood.

vocalEK profile image
vocalEK

A pos hypo, no hashis, and so was my mother.

Choirgirl1 profile image
Choirgirl1

I am A positive and have hyphothyroidism.

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