French researchers say that women with blood type B+ are at the highest risk of Diabetes
A team of French scientists led by Dr. Guy Fagherazzi of the Centre for Research in Epidemiology and Population Health at the GustaveRoussy Institute in Villejuif, France have recently concluded their study on assessing diabetes risk according to blood type. They have come up with the conclusion that while some blood groups would place women at a higher risk of diabetes, others would lower the risk, irrespective of other factors which affect the occurrence of the disease.
The basic conclusion derived from this study is that women with blood type O+ are at the lowest risk of diabetes while those with blood type B+ are at the highest risk. As compared to type O+, women with blood type B+ has almost 35% more chance to contract diabetes. Blood types A+, A- and AB+ have 17%, 22% and 26% more chancesrespectivelyof contracting the disease as compared to blood type O+. The studies for O-, B- and AB- blood types were inconclusive because of the rarity of these blood types.
The methodology of the study conducted was based on screening the blood type for diabetes risk by studying the antigens and antibodies in the blood along with the additional variable called the Rhesus (Rh) factor. The study was conducted over a period of almost 18 years and involved more than 80,000 women, out of which only about 3,200 were diagnosed with diabetes.
Many experts have raised questions regarding the reliability of this study and its conclusions by saying that the data used for the research is insufficient and is bound to produce faulty and inconclusive results. Doubts have also been expressed regarding how feasible it would be to identify diabetes risk through blood type screening when in fact there are so many other risk factors which are easily identifiable.
However, Dr. Guy Fagherazzi maintains his stand by saying that it is beyond doubt that there is a strong relation between blood type and diabetes risk. He agrees that the findings of this study are not the final word on the subject and that more pathophysiological research is required along with clinical studies on the effect of blood type in diagnosis and treatment of diabetes.
It is clear that this study which involved a huge cohort of test subjects is a landmark in the field of medical research for identifying risk factors associated with diabetes. Although the study was conducted only on women subjects, it has been said that generally diabetes risk associated with blood type is not sex-dependant and therefore the research conclusions can very well hold true for males as well.

www.diabeteszone.org