Differences in SARS-CoV-2 antibodies depending on age, blood group, and sex in a Swedish blood donor cohort
(2024) In Scandinavian Journal of Clinical and Laboratory Investigation 84(4). p.230-236- Abstract
This study aimed to describe differences in prevalence and the long-term presence of nucleocapsid antibodies (N-antibodies) elicited by SARS-CoV-2 infection in a Swedish blood donor population not subjected to lockdown. We tested 20,651 blood donor samples for nucleocapsid antibodies from the beginning of March 2020 and 27 months onwards using the Roche Elecsys Anti-SARS-CoV-2 assay. The proportion of positive SARS-CoV-2 antibody samples was determined each week. After the exclusions of one-time donors and subjects with incomplete data, 19,726 samples from 4003 donors remained. Differences in antibody prevalences stratified for age, sex, and blood groups (ABO and RhD) were determined, as well as antibody loss and recovery. Lower... (More)
This study aimed to describe differences in prevalence and the long-term presence of nucleocapsid antibodies (N-antibodies) elicited by SARS-CoV-2 infection in a Swedish blood donor population not subjected to lockdown. We tested 20,651 blood donor samples for nucleocapsid antibodies from the beginning of March 2020 and 27 months onwards using the Roche Elecsys Anti-SARS-CoV-2 assay. The proportion of positive SARS-CoV-2 antibody samples was determined each week. After the exclusions of one-time donors and subjects with incomplete data, 19,726 samples from 4003 donors remained. Differences in antibody prevalences stratified for age, sex, and blood groups (ABO and RhD) were determined, as well as antibody loss and recovery. Lower antibody prevalence was seen for older donors, blood group AB, and RhD-negative subjects. A significant decrease in antibody titer between the first and the second antibody-positive donation was seen for the whole study group, females, older subjects, blood group O, AB, and RhD-positive subjects. The titer waned below the detection limit in 60 (3.0%) of 1983 N-antibody-positive donors, and for 18 of these donors, a second episode with antibodies was detected. We showed that N-antibodies persist for months or years and that surprisingly few antibody-positive donors lost their antibodies. We also conclude that antibody prevalence in a Swedish population never subject to lockdown did not apparently differ from populations that were subject to stricter regulations.
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- author
- Petersson, Annika LU ; Holmberg, Jimmy ; Pattison-Granberg, Johanna and Ekblom, Kim LU
- publishing date
- 2024
- type
- Contribution to journal
- publication status
- published
- keywords
- antibodies, blood donor, COVID-19 serological testing, epidemiology, immunity
- in
- Scandinavian Journal of Clinical and Laboratory Investigation
- volume
- 84
- issue
- 4
- pages
- 230 - 236
- publisher
- Informa Healthcare
- external identifiers
-
- scopus:85196626528
- pmid:38905129
- ISSN
- 0036-5513
- DOI
- 10.1080/00365513.2024.2361279
- language
- English
- LU publication?
- no
- additional info
- Publisher Copyright: © 2024 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.
- id
- 3d76383c-4364-44c2-aa44-b17fb2e9dd1b
- date added to LUP
- 2026-02-17 14:20:32
- date last changed
- 2026-02-18 07:42:26
@article{3d76383c-4364-44c2-aa44-b17fb2e9dd1b,
abstract = {{<p>This study aimed to describe differences in prevalence and the long-term presence of nucleocapsid antibodies (N-antibodies) elicited by SARS-CoV-2 infection in a Swedish blood donor population not subjected to lockdown. We tested 20,651 blood donor samples for nucleocapsid antibodies from the beginning of March 2020 and 27 months onwards using the Roche Elecsys Anti-SARS-CoV-2 assay. The proportion of positive SARS-CoV-2 antibody samples was determined each week. After the exclusions of one-time donors and subjects with incomplete data, 19,726 samples from 4003 donors remained. Differences in antibody prevalences stratified for age, sex, and blood groups (ABO and RhD) were determined, as well as antibody loss and recovery. Lower antibody prevalence was seen for older donors, blood group AB, and RhD-negative subjects. A significant decrease in antibody titer between the first and the second antibody-positive donation was seen for the whole study group, females, older subjects, blood group O, AB, and RhD-positive subjects. The titer waned below the detection limit in 60 (3.0%) of 1983 N-antibody-positive donors, and for 18 of these donors, a second episode with antibodies was detected. We showed that N-antibodies persist for months or years and that surprisingly few antibody-positive donors lost their antibodies. We also conclude that antibody prevalence in a Swedish population never subject to lockdown did not apparently differ from populations that were subject to stricter regulations.</p>}},
author = {{Petersson, Annika and Holmberg, Jimmy and Pattison-Granberg, Johanna and Ekblom, Kim}},
issn = {{0036-5513}},
keywords = {{antibodies; blood donor; COVID-19 serological testing; epidemiology; immunity}},
language = {{eng}},
number = {{4}},
pages = {{230--236}},
publisher = {{Informa Healthcare}},
series = {{Scandinavian Journal of Clinical and Laboratory Investigation}},
title = {{Differences in SARS-CoV-2 antibodies depending on age, blood group, and sex in a Swedish blood donor cohort}},
url = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/00365513.2024.2361279}},
doi = {{10.1080/00365513.2024.2361279}},
volume = {{84}},
year = {{2024}},
}