Correlation of Blood Groups and Intelligence Quotient Levels among Medical Students

Abstract

Abstract: Background: Blood group and intelligence are both highly heritable traits unique to each individual. For the past several years, a possible correlation between these two traits has been suggested but existing studies report contrasting results in different geographical populations.
Objective: To investigate a potential relationship between blood group and intelligence among consenting medical and dental students of Dow University of Health Sciences, Karachi.
Materials & Methods: This study is a cross-sectional study involving the MBBS and BDS students of Dow University of Health Sciences within age group of 18-21 years. The study was conducted in the department of Physiology, Dow Medical College (DUHS) from 15th February 2021 to 1st July 2021. After the Institutional Review Board’s approval, we determined the ABO and Rh blood group of the participants through test tube method (forward grouping) during the physiology practical sessions. Intelligence levels were assessed using the Stanford Binet IQ Test. SPSS 21 was used to analyze the data collected.
Results: Out of 353 participants, 67 (18.98%) were male and 286 (81.01%) were female with a mean age of 20 years. We found highest IQ scores in blood group A negative (25.80±8.25) with no statistical significance (p=0.162). Moreover, there was no statistically significant difference between the intelligence of male and female participants (p=0.257).
Conclusion: Blood group and intelligence of an individual are two heritable traits that are not linked with each other. There is no difference in the IQ of males and females. This finding has important implications in the educational field as it shows that male and female students of different blood groups have similar cognitive capabilities and consequently, similar educational needs.