Sánchez-Velasco et al. (2001) studied major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class I and class II alleles in 100 unrelated adult Jordanians of both sexes from the capital Amman and in 46 individuals from the Jordan valley. Sánchez-Velasco et al. (2001) found the most frequent DQA1 alleles in Jordanians to be DQA1*0201 (0.2690), DQA1*0301 (0.2414), and DQA1*0501 (0.1724). Sánchez-Velasco et al. (2001) also noted that three-loci haplotype heterogeneity was common with 38 HLA class II haplotypes identified in this population. The most frequent 3-loci haplotype observed in this population was DRB1*0401-DQA1*0301-DQB1*0302 (0.1793) followed by DRB1*0704-DQA1*0201-DQB1*0202 (0.1552). In addition, 220 different five-loci haplotypes with several unusual allelic combinations were observed, although many of them are pan-European haplotypes. The most frequent five-loci haplotype was found to be the A30-B7-DRB1*03-DQA1*0501-DQB1*0201 (0.0138). Since several Jordanian haplotypes were not found in the literature available at the time, Sánchez-Velasco et al. (2001) suggested that the specific Jordanian haplotypes are: A31-B7-DRB1*04/07-DQA1*0301/0201-DQB1*0302/0202 (0.0103) and A1-B7-DRB1*07-DQA1*0201-DQB1*0202, A2-B7-DRB1*04-DQA1*0301-DQB1*0302, A11-B7-DRB1*07-DQA1*0201-DQB1*0201 haplotypes but at lower frequencies (0.007). Sánchez-Velasco et al. (2001) made a tree analysis of HLA class I and class II alleles for several Caucasian populations and calculated individual genetic distances. Haplotype frequencies, genetic distances, and dendrograms did not reveal great differences as compared with those in other Mediterranean countries and Western Europeans populations. These results led Sánchez-Velasco et al. (2001) to suggest that both HLA class I and class II polymorphisms (but especially the former) of the Jordanian population demonstrate considerable heterogeneity, which reflects ancient and recent admixture with neighboring populations, and important human migratory trends throughout the history.

Zaki et al. (1994) carried out a case control study involving a group of 48 Arab children with steroid responsive childhood nephritic syndrome and a control group consisting of healthy Arab children, to see if there was any HLA association in this population. HLA-DQW1 was found to be significantly reduced in the patient group.

Al-Nassar et al. (1995) reported HLA-DQ alpha allele and genotype frequencies in a sample of an unrelated native Kuwaiti population. Six alleles and 21 genotypes were identified in a sample of 220 people. The allelic frequencies were found to be in the range 5.7-27.5%. This locus demonstrated a heterozygosity of 0.80 with an allelic diversity of 0.81 and the power of discrimination (PD) was found to be 0.93. The distribution of observed genotypes conformed to Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium, thus, indicating genetic equilibrium of the different variants. Al-Nassar et al. (1995) concluded that this population data should permit the use of HLA-DQ alpha marker for individual identification in forensic casework.

Mahmoud (1998) compared the expression frequencies of the major histocompatibilty complex (MHC) in 26 Kuwaiti psoriatic patients with 60 controls matched for age, sex, and ethnic origin. The study revealed significantly increased expression of HLA-DQ2 and DQ7 in the cases versus the controls. [Mahmoud F. Association of major histocompatibility complex with psoriasis vulgaris in adult Kuwaitis. Med Princ Pract. 1998; 7(4):261-3.]

Haider et al. (1999) determined the prevalence of human leukocyte antigen (HLA) DQA1 alleles in 78 Kuwaiti Arab children with insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (IDDM) and in 57 normal healthy controls with similar ethnic background. Haider et al. (1999) also determined the prevalence of HLA-DQB1 alleles in the same population sample within this study. The frequency of DQA1 allele *0301, which encode for an Arg at codon 52, was found to be significantly higher in the IDDM patients compared to the controls (p<0.001). The frequency of DQA1 allele *0302 was also found to be higher in IDDM cases than controls (p = 0.034) but the difference was found to be less pronounced than DQA1*0301. Amongst the Arg52 alleles, no significant difference was detected in the frequency of *0401 between IDDM cases and the controls and the allele *0501 was detected only in controls. For non-Arg52 alleles *0103, *0104, and *0201, the differences in the two groups were not found to be significant, with the exception of allele *0104 (p = 0.024). Analysis of HLA-DQBI/DQA1 haplotypes from IDDM cases and controls revealed a significantly high frequency of haplotype DQA1*0301/DQB1*0201 between Kuwaiti IDDM cases (49/78, 63%) and the controls (8/57, 14%).

Distribution of HLA-DQA1 alleles in the Lebanese population was studied by Shammaa et al (2011). 

The contribution of HLA-DRB1 alleles to Type I Diabetes Mellitus susceptibility was studied in the Lebanese population by Zalloua et al (2002), Al-Jenaidi et al (2005), Stayoussef et al (2009), Taleb et al (2010), and Ei Wafai et al (2011)

Sebetan and Hajar (1997) determined the genotype and allele frequencies of the HLA-DQalpha locus in the Qatari population and compared with those reported in Arabs and other various ethnic groups. Two hundred unrelated healthy Qatari individuals living in Doha, State of Qatar, were included in this study. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) amplified DNA fragment and hybridization to allele specific oligonucleotide probes in a reversed dot blot format were used in this study. Among the 200 individuals studied, Sebetan and Hajar (1997) encountered all the possible 21 genotypes which resulted from 6 HLA DQalpha alleles. The most common allele was found to be HLA DQalpha 4 (0.2825) and the least frequent allele was found to be HLA DQalpha 1.1 (0.0775). The most common genotypes were found to be HLA DQalpha 1.2-4 (0.130) and HLA DQalpha 2-4 (0.115). The least frequent genotypes were found to be HLA DQalpha 1.3-1.3 (0.005), HLA DQalpha 1.1 1.1 (0.010) and HLA DQalpha 1.1-1.3 (0.010). The observed and expected genotypes values showed a complete fit to the Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium. The power of discrimination was found to be 0.9321 and chance of paternity exclusion was found to be 60.9% in the Qatari population. By comparing the results obtained from this study with various ethnic groups, Sebetan and Hajar (1997) found that the Qatari is very different from all other reported populations. Sebetan and Hajar (1997) concluded that the established database in this study indicates that the HLA DQalpha is a very valuable marker for forensic identity and paternity applications in Qatari population.

Al-Yafei et al. 2020 studied the distribution of HLA alleles in 77 unrelated Emiratis. The common HLA- DQA1 alleles identified among these subjects were DQA1*05:01:01 (16%), DQA1*02:01:01 (15%), DQA1*05:05:01 (13%), and DQA1*01:02:01 (10%). A shifting pattern from neutrality towards heterozygosity was observed at the HLA-DQA1 locus.

Arnaiz-Villena et al. 2019 characterized HLA alleles in 52 blood donor volunteers from Abu Dhabi, UAE. HLA typing was carried out for HLA-A, HLA-B, HLA -C, HLA-DRB1, HLA-DQB1, and HLA-DQA1 alleles. Twelve HLA- DQA1 alleles were identified in these subjects.

Creary et al. 2021 characterized HLA alleles and diversity across populations worldwide. One populaiton involved 52 Emirati individuals (104 chromosomes). HLA-A, HLA-C, HLA-B, HLA-DRB1, HLA-DRB3/4/5, HLA-DQA1, HLA-DQB1, HLA-DPA1, HLA-DPB1 alleles were typed in this population. 19 unique HLA-DQA1 alleles were identified in the Arab population