DISTRIBUTION OF ABO AND RH-D BLOOD GROUPS AND THEIR RELATIONSHIPS WITH ANTHROPOMETRIC MEASUREMENTS AMONG STUDENTS OF ADWA COLLEGE OF TEACHERS EDUCATION, NORTHERN ETHIOPIA

Abstract

The ABO and Rh blood groups are the most important blood groups despite the long list of several other blood groups discovered so far. The distribution of ABO and Rh blood groups vary worldwide and are not found in equal numbers even among ethnic groups. They are also associated with some important human traits. Therefore, this study seeks to assess the distribution of ABO and Rh-D blood groups and to determine if there is any relationship between these blood groups and anthropometric measurements (height, weight and body mass index) among the students of Adwa College of Teachers Education. A cross sectional study was conducted from December 2017 to January 2018 in the college. A total of 614 students (331 males and 283 females) were took part in the study. Height and weight of the subjects were measured using tape measure and weighing machine respectively and blood types were determined using antisera. Blood type O has a highest frequency (44.8%) while blood type AB was found to be the least (5.4%). The allele frequencies of IO, IA, and IB were found to be 0.67, 0.18, and 0.15 respectively. With regard to Rh-D blood group system, blood type Rh-D positive was found to be the most prevalent (94.6%) while Rh-D negative was the least (5.4%). In both Rh-D positive and Rh-D negative blood types, blood type O has a highest frequency and blood type AB has the least. The allele frequencies of D and d were 0.77 and 0.23 respectively. Comparison of overall mean of height and weight values among different blood types of ABO blood group system showed significant difference (p-value<0.05). Subjects with blood type O (1.64 ± 0.09 m) were relatively taller than the other blood types and the least mean height was recorded in blood type AB subjects (1.58 ± 0.08 m). With regard to weight, subjects with blood type A (51.4 ± 5.62 kg) were associated with high mean weight and blood type AB (47 ± 5.32 kg) subjects were found to have the least mean weight. However, mean BMI did not show such difference (p-value>0.05). Regarding Rh-D blood group system, comparison of mean height, weight and BMI among Rh-D positive and Rh-D negative blood types did not show significant difference (p-value>0.05)