5 Things Your Blood Type Says About Your Health

             

5 THINGS YOUR BLOOD TYPE SAYS ABOUT YOUR HEALTH

You can change your workouts and your diet. But there's nothing you can do to change your blood
type, which is determined by microscopic substances—inherited from your parents—that live on the surface of your red blood cells. Those surface substances interact with your immune system in ways that change your risk for several common diseases.
So depending on whether you're type A, B, AB, or O, you may be more or less likely to suffer from heart trouble, cancer, and several other maladies. Here's what your blood type could mean for you:

      

MEMORY PROBLEMS

Blood type AB may increase your risk for cognitive impairment, shows research from the journal Neurology. Specifically, older ABs were more likely than those with other blood types to have problems learning or recalling lists of items—a standard test of cognitive performance."We know blood type AB is related to levels of certain clotting factors and to proteins in the blood," says study coauthor Mary Cushman, MD, a professor of medicine and pathology at the University of Vermont. While this may help explain why type ABs are more likely to develop thinking problems later in life, the exact mechanisms aren't clear, Cushman says.

                                 

STOMACH CANCER

More bad news if you're blood type AB: Your risk for stomach cancer is roughly 26% higher than if you had blood type B or O, concludes a study from the American Journal of Epidemiology. (If you're type A, your risk is 20% higher than those with type B or O.)A kind of bacteria called H. pylori may be to blame. While roughly two-thirds of the world's population are walking around with H. pylori in their guts, those with blood type AB or A may have a heightened immune system reaction to the bacteria that increases their cancer risk, says study coauthor Gustaf Edgren, MD, PhD, an epidemiologist at Karolinska University Hospital in Sweden.

   

ULCERS

The same bacteria that may cause stomach cancers among those with blood types A or AB may up your risk for ulcers if you're type O, Edgren's research shows. "This blood group somehow modifies the body's immunological response to the bacteria, but we don't know exactly how," Edgren says. That immune system modification may explain the connection, he adds.

       

HEART DISEASE

Thank your lucky genes, type O's. Your blood type may lower your risk for heart disease by up to 23% compared to people with other blood types. That's according to research from the Harvard School of Public Health. People with blood types AB and B were at the greatest risk for heart disease, the study data show. The authors say certain blood groups have been linked to higher rates of inflammation, which could partly explain their connection to heart disease.

             

PANCREATIC CANCER

More benefits for type O's: You're 37% less likely to develop pancreatic cancer than people with other blood types, suggests research from the Journal of the National Cancer Institute. Once again, the study authors point to the presence of the gut bacteria H. pylori as a possible explanation for the higher disease rates among non-O blood types.

                                    

NOW WHAT?

While it seems your blood type plays a role in your disease risk, it's not clear if that role is big or small. "The best advice is to have a healthy lifestyle," Cushman says. She recommends eating right, exercising, and only worrying about those things you can control. Also, if you're concerned about a specific health condition—whether it's heart disease or memory loss—proper screening and keeping in close contact with your doctor can help you stay ahead of the illness, Cushman says.