The blood type most often mentioned in this claim is type B. But the headline is misleading if it suggests that having type B makes you more likely to reach 100.
A 2004 Japanese study of 269 centenarians found that type B was more common among the centenarians than in a comparison group, leading researchers to suggest a possible association with exceptional longevity. PubMed+1
However, subsequent research has not consistently confirmed this. A much larger Chinese study involving 2,201 centenarians found no statistically significant association between ABO blood type and longevity, and its authors concluded that blood type was not associated with living to 100. PubMed+1 A meta-analysis likewise found no significant association for A, B, O, or AB blood groups. DOI
So the accurate takeaway is:
🩸 Blood type B has been linked to exceptional longevity in one study, but there is no strong evidence that any particular blood type makes someone more likely to live to 100. Longevity is influenced by many factors, including genetics, lifestyle, environment, and overall health.
If you’re using this as a social-media post, a safer headline would be: “Could Your Blood Type Be Linked to Longevity? What Studies Actually Show”.
