Prevalence of Malaria among ABO Blood Groups in Ghana: A Case Study of Adentan Municipality

Abstract

The ABO blood group system is the most clinically recognized blood group and it is made up of A, B, AB and O antigens. Many studies have been done to determine the relationship between malaria and the ABO blood group system in terms of the susceptibility, intensity, resistance and frequency of the disease among the various blood groups and there have been variations in the findings thus; this study sought to determine the prevalence of malaria among the various blood groups among the residents of the Adentan municipality. A cross-sectional study was conducted and 208 participants were enrolled, out of which 147 (70.7%) and 61(29.3%) were females and males respectively and 194 (93.3%) and 14 (6.7%) participants were adults and children respectively. There were 69 malaria cases of which 13 (18.8%) were children and 56 (81.2%) were adults. 40.58% out of the 69 malaria cases were males while 59.42% were females respectively. Malaria was most prevalent among blood group O Rh positive (44%) and less in blood group B negative (0%). Blood group O positive (41%) was more prevalent among the residents. There was significant correlation between malaria and gender and malaria and age distribution (P=0.012 and P<0.00) respectively. In conclusion, children and the female gender type are more prone to malaria parasitemia than adults and the male gender type. Age is a significant risk factor in malaria infections. Although there was no significant relationship between malaria and blood group, malaria was most prevalent among those with blood group O Rh positive. Blood group O positive was the most common among the participants.