Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40740669›Full record

ArticleThe Lancet regional health. Western Pacific2025

The psychological impact of conflict in the Middle East from 2023 to 2025 on Australian communities: a prospective cohort study.

Susan J Rees, Tyson Whitten, Alvin Kuowei Tay, Aino Suomi, Batool Moussa, Fatima Hassoun, Nawal Nadar, Derrick Silove

Abstract read
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in The Lancet regional health. Western Pacific, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
2citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

2 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Article
  2. Review
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

8 authors.

Susan J ReesDiscipline of Psychiatry and Mental Health, School of Clinical Medicine, Faculty of Medicine and Health, University of New South Wales, Australia.
Tyson WhittenDiscipline of Psychiatry and Mental Health, School of Clinical Medicine, Faculty of Medicine and Health, University of New South Wales, Australia.
Alvin Kuowei TayDiscipline of Psychiatry and Mental Health, School of Clinical Medicine, Faculty of Medicine and Health, University of New South Wales, Australia.
Aino SuomiPOLIS: The Centre for Social Policy Research, Australian National University, Australia.
Batool MoussaDiscipline of Psychiatry and Mental Health, School of Clinical Medicine, Faculty of Medicine and Health, University of New South Wales, Australia.
Fatima HassounDiscipline of Psychiatry and Mental Health, School of Clinical Medicine, Faculty of Medicine and Health, University of New South Wales, Australia.
Nawal NadarDiscipline of Psychiatry and Mental Health, School of Clinical Medicine, Faculty of Medicine and Health, University of New South Wales, Australia.
Derrick SiloveDiscipline of Psychiatry and Mental Health, School of Clinical Medicine, Faculty of Medicine and Health, University of New South Wales, Australia.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Background: There is a lack of empirical research on the mental health risks faced by populations living in high-income multicultural countries during a war in their country of origin. We examined mental health and psychosocial outcomes associated with a period during the 2023-2025 Middle East conflict (primarily involving Israel, Palestine and Lebanon) on Australian resident women including those who arrived from Lebanon, Gaza and other Palestinian Territories. Methods: The mental health study assessed 410 Australian resident women at two points: one 12-18 months prior, and one period during the current Middle Eastern conflict extending from October 7, 2023, to December 2024. The three groups included those directly connected by birth or family to the conflict-affected regions: Lebanon, Gaza and other Palestinian territories (Middle East-LGP), Other Migrants not from the region, and Australian Born (AB) women with no connection to the region. Measures included the Mini-International Neuropsychiatric Interview to assess symptoms of panic disorder (PD), mood disorder (MDD), post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), separation anxiety disorder (SEPAD), Quality of Life, Worry about Family and Separation from Family overseas. Generalised linear mixed models and cumulative link mixed models were used to examine the trajectory of mental disorder symptoms over time for each group compared with the AB group. The analysis adjusted for age, marital status, financial difficulties, and COVID-19 stress. Findings: Generalised linear and cumulative link mixed models revealed significant interaction effects, indicating that Middle East-LGP women experienced a significantly greater increase in PD symptoms (β = 1.26, SE = 0.54, Interpretation: This is a unique study of women's mental health in a multicultural, high-income country, undertaken during conflict occurring in another region of the world. Panic Disorder symptoms, poorer quality of life and other psychosocial stress increased only in the group connected by migration to the conflict-affected region. Funding: National Health and Medical Research Council, Australia (2018/GNT1164736).

Indexed as

High-income countryLongitudinalMental healthMiddle East conflictPanic disorderQuality of life

Identifiers

PMID40740669
PMCPMC12304685

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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.