Blood types are of four main types that include A, B, AB and O, which can mainly point to the genes that you have inherited. These blood groups denote the presence of certain kinds of antigens and antibodies and can then express themselves as RhD (an antigen) positive or negative.
These antibodies and antigens can then end up dealing with the external cells and substances. Is there any blood type, then, that is most effective at maintaining stable health and conveying longevity?
Blood type B might be one such blood group that might denote longevity. This does not necessarily mean that it directly causes or results in longevity but that it has certain characteristics that might correlate or have a connection with longevity.
Let’s take a look at this in further detail below.
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Does Blood Type B Denote Longevity?
It is possible for blood type B to point towards longevity. This means that this blood type contains certain markers and characteristics that can be important in fighting against certain kinds of diseases and conditions.
It might also have certain other conditions or supporting features in place that might aid the body by strengthening it in different ways.
However, there is not sufficient research to suggest that this blood type has some definite causes or factors that can result in such an occurrence. In fact, there is quite a bit of conflicting research that might suggest the opposite.
It is, therefore, first important to examine the existing research that points towards this kind of correlation in the first place. You can go through this research below.
What Does The Research Say?
A study conducted in 2004 by a group of Japanese researchers aimed to examine the correlation or association between the blood groups and the life expectancy or longevity of people.
To carry out this research, the team conducted the study on 269 centenarians (or people who are over 100 years old). All these centenarians resided in Tokyo, Japan.
At the same time, apart from this experimental group, a control group was established that contained people from the same region but who were a bit younger than the centenarians.
The researchers studied the blood groups of each of these participants by determining the frequency of the ABO blood types. Based on this, they found the following frequencies of blood groups in the centenarians:
- A: 34.2%
- O: 28.3%
- B: 29.4%
- AB: 8.2%
In the control group, the frequency was as follows:
- A: 38.6%
- O: 30.1%
- B: 21.9%
- AB: 9.4%
It is clear that blood type B is more frequent among centenarians as compared to the control group. Within the control group too, there were 118 elderly individuals (not centenarians), but blood type B was still more frequent among the centenarians.
Additionally, nearly a third of the centenarians did not suffer from any serious conditions or diseases. These results allowed the researchers to conclude that blood type B might have certain correlations with longevity, but they could not find sufficient evidence in medical reports.
The study further concludes by suggesting further research and examination of potential causes that might be responsible for this correlation.
There can be several important points here that can be responsible for the correlation. For instance, since B positive is a blood group that can help treat sickle cell disease and thalassemia, it might contain antibodies that allow the centenarians to fight against several associated harmful conditions as well.
Differences in plasma levels might also point to this kind of distinction.
This can be an interesting piece of research that can point to certain markers that make it possible to establish this correlation. Based on this and based on further research, developing additional markers and pointers can make it easier to identify and replicate the causes in the larger population.
However, there is also other research that questions the claims made by this research conducted on the centenarians. For instance, a study published in 2011 conducted a review of medical records from 2004 of a certain hospital, studying the frequency of certain blood groups among different age groups.
Based on this study that went through the records of 871 patients, the frequency of the patients that exhibited blood type B actually went on to decline with age while also having a poorer survival curve as compared to the other blood groups.
This study, however, only included patients up to the age of 97 and did not include any centenarians, which might be a reason for the disparity, not to mention that the locations chosen for each study were different.
It is, therefore, essential for larger and more cohesive research that can point to the correlations between blood type B and longevity.
What Does This Mean?
Based on what we have seen above, it is important to note that it is possible for centenarians to have a greater frequency of individuals who have blood type B as compared to other age groups, especially since the other study mentioned here did not include centenarians at all.
Other aspects to note in this regard relate to location and lifestyle. Since the study on the centenarians was conducted in Japan, a different culture, diet and lifestyle can also point to potential longevity. Genetic conditions, of course, can be highly responsible for this.
Thus, while it can be difficult to point toward definite causation or association between the two, a correlation seems to exist when it comes to centenarians. This can have favorable outcomes and can produce more clarity through further research.
Blood Type B and Longevity: Summing Up
Blood type B might denote and point towards longevity, according to research conducted in 2004 on 269 centenarians, especially considering that the frequency of this blood type was higher among them as compared to other individuals in the control group.
At the same time, however, conflicting and insufficient research can make it difficult to make conclusions about this association, although it can certainly be worth knowing what made these centenarians live so long.
All in all, more research can help determine the association between blood type B and longevity.
