Contents:
- Medical Video: How Your Blood Type Protects and Hurts You
- What determines blood type?
- How your memory is determined by blood type
- Blood type AB is more susceptible to senility
- Blood type O is more protected from Alzheimer's disease
- The increased risk of memory disorders is not solely determined by blood type
Medical Video: How Your Blood Type Protects and Hurts You
Not new news anymore if women's memories are sharper than men. Now, but a new study shows how a person's memory, and the risk of memory disorders such as dementia and Alzheimer's, is also determined by his blood type. Hayo, what is your blood type?
What determines blood type?
There are four types of blood groups: A, B, AB, and O. Blood type is determined by the presence or absence of proteins in the blood called antigens. This antigen is passed from the parents. In addition, if a protein called the Rhesus (Rh) factor appears in red blood cells, that person has a blood group Rh + (positive).
Type O + is the most common blood group, while blood group AB- is the least commonly found. However, not all ethnic groups have the same proportion of blood groups. For example, Hispanics have a higher proportion of blood type O, while Asians have a higher proportion of blood group B.
How your memory is determined by blood type
Which is your blood type?
Blood type AB is more susceptible to senility
Research conducted at the University of Vermont examined data from more than 30,000 people aged 45 years and over. The participants were given four cognitive tests during the study and compared with groups that did not have memory disorders. In the three and a half year study period, they found that 495 people had memory or cognitive disorders.
Researchers found that people with AB blood type 82 percent were more at risk of experiencing senility and difficult to remember compared to people in the three other blood groups.
The researchers also found that people with higher levels of factor VIII (a protein that helps blood clotting) were almost 24 percent more likely to develop memory problems than those who had a lower factor VIII level. People with AB blood type generally have higher factor VIII levels compared to other blood groups.
Blood type O is more protected from Alzheimer's disease
Other studies that study the relationship between blood type and risk of dementia found that people with blood type O have more volume gray matter in their cerebellum compared to other blood groups. They also found that people with blood type A, B, AB had less volume gray matter in the temporal and limbic brain, and the left hippocampus. Gray matter play a role in information processing in the brain and as we age, volume gray matter will decline.
Because people with blood type O have volume gray matter more so, information processing centers in their brains can be protected for longer periods of time, making them more protected from neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's disease.
The increased risk of memory disorders is not solely determined by blood type
Don't panic after reading the article above and find out that your blood type is at risk for certain memory disorders.
Researchers say that the study did not see a direct link between blood groups and dementia. Current evidence shows that the best way to maintain brain health is a healthy and balanced diet, no smoking, and regular exercise.
