Assessing ABO/ Rhesus blood group frequency and association with anemia among the population: A cross-sectional study

Determination of the various ABO/Rhesus blood group distributions and their association with anemia has importance in the context of anemia prevention. A facility-based cross-sectional study was conducted from November 2017-February 2018. To assess ABO/Rhesus blood groups distribution and their association with anemia. Blood grouping was done using slide method. RBC count and Hemoglobin estimation were done using hemocytometry using Neubauer’s chamber with freshly prepared Hymes’ diluting fluid and Sahli’s Method respectively. Data were analyzed using the chi-square test. A total of 655 subjects participated with age of 18-21yrs. Distribution of ABO phenotypes, in decreasing order, was O (283, 43%), B (201, 30%), A (145, 23%) and AB (26, 4%). Most of them were Rh+ (598, 91%) over the Rh-(57.9%). The overall anemia prevalence was 28.4% (186/655). When comparing ABO blood group distribution among the anemic subjects, AB blood group was highly prone to anemia (77%) as compared to other blood groups like A(39%), O(24%), B(20%). Most of the anemic were Rh + (28%) than Rh-(16%).ABO blood group is significantly associated with anemia. A high rate of anemia was seen in blood group AB as compared to those with other ABO blood groups. It is observed that O blood group of individuals are comparatively resistant to anemia in spite of large frequency distribution of O groups in general population whereas anemia is relatively prone to the individuals having blood group B, A or AB.