I'm surprised we don't yet have a regional thread for the Middle East as we have seen some ME/CFS and Long Covid papers out of this region. The MENA country grouping seems to be often used, ie from the World Bank definition: six Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) members (Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and United Arab Emirates [UAE]), and 15 other countries or territories: Algeria, Djibouti, the Arab Republic of Egypt, Iraq, the Islamic Republic of Iran, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Libya, Malta, Morocco, the Republic of Yemen, the Syrian Arab Republic, Tunisia, and West Bank and Gaza. Adding Turkey to the thread. Israel and Malta have separate threads.
Prevalence of CFS and its related factors in covid- 19 patients discharged from at northwest of Iran hospitals in 2022, 2024, Arman Alizadeh et al A paper suggesting that knowledge about ME/CFS in Iran is currently very poor.
Frequency and characteristics of CFS and MS patients at a university hospital in Eastern Saudi Arabia, 2024, AlAmri, Abdullah S et al Forum thread here: Frequency and characteristics of CFS and MS patients at a university hospital in Eastern Saudi Arabia, 2024, AlAmri et al
Impacts of Moderate Severity COVID-19 on Functional Capacity, Exercise Tolerance, Muscle Strength, Hand Grip and QOL, Maha Alshammari, Alsayed Shanb, Mohammed Alsubaiei, Mohammad Ahsan Ministry of health, Imam Abdulrahman Bin Faisal University, Helwan University Background The COVID-19 pandemic has posed significant challenges to global health, affecting millions of individuals worldwide. While acute and severe cases COVID-19 receive considerable attention, those with moderate severity of COVID-19 are also prone to substantial functional impairments that make them warranted for investigations. This study aimed to investigate the impacts of COVID-19 with moderate-severity on functional capacity, exercise tolerance, isometric muscle strength, hand grip, and quality of life. Methods Ninety-six participants (48 with COVID-19, 48 without COVID-19) were recruited in this cross-section study. The effects on functional capacity, exercise tolerance, isometric muscle power, hand grip, and quality of life were measured by the 6-minute walk test, One-minute sit-to-stand test, Hand-held dynamometer, Hand grip dynamometer and Quality of Life Questionnaire respectively. Shapiro-Wilk's test was used to test normality of data, Mann-Whitney test was used to compare the significant differences between COVID-19 and matched groups. The Spearman correlation was used to determine the relationships among outcome measures. Results Mean values of functional capacity, isometric muscle power, hand grip, and quality of life reduced significantly in patients with moderate COVID-19 on comparison with their matched (p-values < 0.05), except exercise tolerance (p-values > 0.05). Positive relationships were detected between exercise tolerance, and strength of the hand grip and knee extensors; also, between distance of the 6-minute walk test and exercise tolerance, strength of the hand grip and knee extensors (p = < 0.001). Conclusion Patients with COVID-19 moderate severity have impairments in functional capacity, exercise tolerance, isometric muscle strength, hand grip, and quality of life. Exercise tolerance correlated positively with the 6 MWT, strength of the hand grip and knee extensors, thus multi-dimension health care training programs need to be extended for those patients whatever the severity degree of infection. LINK
Prevalence of Long COVID-19 among Home-treated COVID-19 Patients in Baghdad, Iraq 2023, 2025, Majid et al Authors from Department of Community Medicine, College of Medicine, Al-Mustansiriya University, Baghdad, Iraq and the Iraqi Ministry of Health
Prevalence and Characteristics of Long Covid among COVID-19 Survivors in Saudi Arabia: A Cross-Sectional Study
Awareness and Perception of Myalgic Encephalomyelitis and Chronic Fatigue Syndrome Among Pain Specialists: A Questionnaire-Based Study, 2025, Uygun et Turkish study.
Persistent Symptoms and Associated Risk Factors of COVID-19: A Cross-Sectional Study in Minia, Upper Egypt (2025, Healthcare)
