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ABO Blood Group Status and Pregnancy Outcomes
Safe People
Organisation name
Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust
Organisation sector
Government Agency (Health and Adult Social Care)
Applicant name(s)
Phillip Bennett
Funders/ Sponsors
Lynne Sykes
DEA accredited researcher?
Unknown
Sub-licence arrangements (if any)?
No
Safe Projects
Project ID
NIBDAPC_2022_0009
Lay summary
Preterm Birth affects 7-8% of pregnancies in the UK. Around 70% of preterm birth is spontaneous (with the remaining 30% accounted for by medical interventions for complications of pregnancy (indicated preterm birth)). It is one of the leading causes of neonatal morbidity and mortality world-wide. Despite much effort, the mechanisms of labour, and preterm birth are not fully understood. The composition of the maternal vaginal microbiome and the cervico vaginal maternal immune response have been shown to modulate risk of preterm birth. It is plausiable that the blood group antigens secreted into the cervico vaginal fluid alter the risk of preterm birth by influencing which bacteria colonise in the vaginal. . This study aims to establish if there is a link between maternal blood group (ABO status) and preterm birth. Routinely collected data about women, their health in pregnancy and pregnancy outcomes will be extracted from electronic patient records. All data extracted will be pseudo-anonymised at the point of extraction, so that no woman can be identified as a result of the work. The researchers will then review the data to see if f maternal ABO status is linked to pregnancy outcomes, such as preterm birth and prelabour preterm rupture of membranes.
Public benefit statement
In 2017 as part of its Safer Maternity Care Strategy the Department of Health introduced a target to reduce the preterm birth rate in the UK to 6% by 2025. Currently, the preterm birth rate is 7-8%, and has risen consecutively across the last three decades. In order to address and achieve this target, it is essential that our understanding of the mechanisms that underpin preterm birth is improved, as without this, the development of new therapeutic strategies is limited. Not only is preterm birth a leading cause of neonatal morbidity and mortality, but it also can also have lifelong effects for the parents and families of those affected, including a significant psychological burden. Therefore, projects such as this one, which aim to better understand preterm birth are of huge potential benefit to patients and to wider society.
Request category type
Public Health Research
Other approval committees
Project start date
22/03/2022
Latest approval date
28/01/2022
Safe Data
Dataset(s) name
ICHT Maternity Dataset
Data sensitivity level
De-Personalised
Common Law Duty of Confidentiality
Not applicable
National data opt-out applied?
Not applicable
Request frequency
One-off
Release/Access date
22/03/2022
Safe Setting
Access type
TRE