ABO and Rh Blood Type Relationship in Parents with more than One Disabled Child

Area of Science:

• Medical Biology
• Genetics
• Obstetrics

Background:

• Parental blood variables are significant medical-biological factors contributing to intellectual and physical-movement disabilities.
• Understanding the link between parental blood types and child disability is crucial for early identification and intervention.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the association between parental ABO and Rh blood types and the incidence of intellectual and physical-movement disabilities.
• To determine if specific parental blood type combinations correlate with increased disability rates in offspring.

Main Methods:

• A descriptive-analytical study involving 494 mothers with disabled and normal children in Isfahan province.
• Data collected via questionnaire with a reliability of 0.88 (KR-20).
• Analysis employed a hierarchical log-linear statistical model.

Main Results:

• A significant association was found between the mother's Rh blood type and having a disabled child (P=0.002).
• No significant relationships were observed between disabled children and father's Rh blood type, combined parental Rh types, father's ABO type, mother's ABO type, or combined parental ABO types.

Conclusions:

• Maternal and fetal Rh blood group incompatibility (Rh-negative mother and Rh-positive fetus) elevates the risk of disabilities in newborns.
• This finding underscores the importance of monitoring Rh status during pregnancy to mitigate potential adverse outcomes.