People’s blood types could also be a think about their risk for early stroke, a latest study has found.

For his or her work, published Wednesday within the journal Neurology, a team of researchers checked out people’s genetic profiles and their possible contribution to the danger of early-onset stroke (EOS). That is the stroke that happens before an individual hits 60 years old.

To do that, the researchers analyzed 48 different studies that checked out EOS in people aged 18 to 59. In total, there have been 16,730 EOS cases and nearly 600,000 non-stroke controls who never had a stroke, the University of Maryland School of Medicine (UMSOM) noted in a news release.

Indeed, the researchers found “significant associations” between EOS and the a part of the chromosome with the gene that determines blood type.

Specifically, they found that those that had EOS were “more prone to have blood type A and fewer prone to have blood type O” in comparison with those that had either a late onset stroke or who never had a stroke in any respect, UMSOM noted. Overall, those with blood type A had a 16% higher risk of EOS, while those with blood type O had 12% lower risks of stroke in comparison with those with other blood types.

“Our meta-analysis checked out people’s genetic profiles and located associations between blood type and risk of early-onset stroke. The association of blood type with later-onset stroke was much weaker than what we found with early stroke,” study co-principal investigator Braxton Mitchell of UMSOM said within the news release.

This does not imply that those with blood type A must be concerned as the rise was said to be “very modest,” the researchers said. Nevertheless, this warrants further study as certain blood types look like carrying a better risk for stroke.

“We still do not know why blood type A would confer a better risk, however it likely has something to do with blood-clotting aspects like platelets and cells that line the blood vessels in addition to other circulating proteins, all of which play a job in the event of blood clots,” study co-principal investigator Steven Kittner of UMSOM said within the news release. “We clearly need more follow-up studies to make clear the mechanisms of increased stroke risk.”

For now, people can reduce their stroke risks by working on the aspects that, unlike blood type, they will actually control. They include constructing higher habits resembling exercising, reducing salt intake, incorporating more vegatables and fruits within the weight-reduction plan and quitting smoking. It might even be smart to drink alcohol moderately. As Harvard Health Publishing noted, “there is no such thing as a such thing as a small stroke.”