Association of ABO (H) Secretor Status with Diabetes Mellitus

Aims: The study was carried out to determine whether there is any possible association between ABH secretor status, ABO blood group and diabetes mellitus. Study design: Prospective study: Experimental and Structured Questionnaires Place and Duration of Study: This study was conducted in endocrinology clinic of University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital (UMTH) Maiduguri, Borno state, Nigeria, between March and June 2015. Methodology: A total of 225 individuals of age 17 90 years consisting of 100 confirmed diabetic patients and 125 Non-diabetic individuals (controls) participated in this study. 2 mL of blood and 2 mL of saliva were collected from each participant for ABO blood grouping test and determination of secretor status respectively. Secretors and non-secretors phenotypes were determined by haemagglutination inhibition technique using saliva. Results: Out of the 100 Diabetic patients, 75(75%) were secretors and 25(25%) were non-secretors while 111 (88.8%) and 14(11.2%) of the 125 Non-diabetic subjects were secretors and non-secretors respectively. Nonsecretors were significantly more associated with Diabetes than secretors (X2 = 6.953, df = 1, p = 0.005). ABO blood group was not significantly associated with DM (X2= 1.66, df = 2, p = 0.558). Females are more likely to me non-secretors than males.. Conclusion: The findings in this study suggested that while there was no association between ABO blood groups and Diabetes, secretion of ABH antigens was associated with Diabetes Mellitus. A prospective cohort study of Non-secretors in relation to DM is required to verify whether the increased frequency of diabetes among Non-secretors is by mere chance or is indeed genetic.