You May Be At A Higher Risk Of Type 2 Diabetes Depending On Your Blood Type

Could your blood type influence your risk of Type 2 diabetes?

Researchers at the Center for research in Epidemiology and Population Health at the Gustave Roussy Institute in France have discovered that those with AB type blood may be at a higher risk.

For the study, lead study author Dr. Guy Fagherazzi of the center evaluated data on 82,104 women. All women belonged to a cohort of close to 100,000 female teachers that began in 1990.

The researchers used health questionnaires for the study, helping them identify 3,553 women who had been diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes between 1990 and 2008. Blood samples of the women were taken between 1995 and 1997.

Study results revealed that women with blood group A were about 10 percent more likely to develop Type 2 diabetes when compared to those with a O blood group. Women with blood type b were also about 21 percent more likely to develop the health condition when compared to those with different blood types. However, the researchers noted that these findings were "not statistically significant."

Researchers have not been able to explain the association between blood types and diabetes risk. However, they found that the results of the study could also apply to men.

Statistics show that in the United States alone, close to 29 million people have diabetes, making diabetes the 7th leading cause of death in the country.

More information regarding the findings ca be seen via the journal Diabetologia.

For more great science stories and general news, please visit our sister site, Headlines and Global News (HNGN).