ABO blood group antigens in patients with psoriasis and pemphigus vulgaris

Background: The ABO blood group antigens play a role in the pathophysiology of some diseases and several researches have investigated this relationship in the field of dermatology. In the present study, an attempt was made to find the distribution of blood types in patients with pemphigus vulgaris and chronic plaque type psoriasis. Method: Fifty patients with chronic plaque type psoriasis, 50 patients with pemphigus vulgaris and 100 healthy persons as control group, were selected as the study population. ABO blood grouping was determined by the cell type tube test method, using standard commercial anti/A, anti/B and 5% suspension of red blood cells. Chi square test was used to compare the frequency of ABO blood groups in patients and control groups. Result: Among the 50 patients with psoriasis, 21 (42%) had blood group O, 15 (30%) blood group A, 10 (20%) blood group B and 8 (4%) had blood group AB. Among the 50 patients in the pemphigus group, 22 (44%) had blood group O, 19 (38%) blood group A, 8 (16%) blood group B and 1 (2%) had blood group AB. The distribution of blood groups in patients with these two diseases was not significantly different from the control group. Conclusion: Despite some researches, which found associations between blood group antigens and psoriasis or pemphigus, this study did not find any such relationship.