Blood Groups, Myocardial Infarction and Angina Pectoris among 10,000 Adult Males

Abstract

A five-year prospective investigation of 10,000 Israeli male government employees 40 years of age and over was conducted as part of the Israeli Ischemic Heart Disease Project. The six areas of birth represented were Eastern Europe, Central Europe, Southeastern Europe, Israel, Asia, and North Africa. Subjects with blood Groups A1, B, and A1B tended to have higher incidence rates of myocardial infarction than those with other blood groups. High rates were also noted in A1 and B subjects for angina pectoris. Subjects in blood Group O tended to have lower rates of infarction and angina pectoris than those of other groups, but the differences were not significant. Among the Rhesus, MN, Kell, Duffy and Kidd blood groups, subjects with Kidd negative (JKa-) had the highest rates for both myocardial infarction and angina pectoris. When this group was added to the ABO system, the combinations of A1Jka-, BJka- and, particularly, A1BJka-, had very high incidence rates.