ArticleFrontiers in public health2026
The impact of the October 7th war on Israeli medical students' mental health and well-being.
Article in Frontiers in public health, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
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Abstract
Background: There is a body of literature regarding the high levels of psychological distress routinely experienced by medical students. There is less known about their mental health during times of war and political conflict. Objective: This study examined the impact of the 2023 October 7th war on Israeli medical students' mental health, well-being, lifestyle behaviors, academic function and coping strategies. Methods: A cross-sectional survey with retrospective pre-war self-report of health and academic capability was administered to Bar-Ilan University (BIU) medical students between June and September 2024. Data were collected via an online questionnaire assessing mental health (Depression, Anxiety, and Stress, DASS-21), Kimhi Well-being Scale, Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale, lifestyle behaviors, and coping strategies. Descriptive statistics were conducted; Wilcoxon signed-ranks test was used for pre-post comparisons. Spearman's rank correlation was used to assess associations between war-related exposure variables and health outcomes. Results: 118 medical students completed the survey. Comparison of health status showed that 96 (81.4%) recalled excellent/very good health pre-war compared to only 45 (38.2%) currently. Mental health distress was substantial: 38 (33.9%) met criteria (above the normal range) for depression, 36 (32.1%) for anxiety and 24 (21.4%) for stress. Sleep quality had declined in 88 (75%) of students, physical activity in 58 (50%) and healthy eating in 71 (61%). Well-being scores fell below adequacy threshold for 69 (59%) of students. In sub-group analysis, male students showed significantly higher resilience scores ( Conclusion: The October 7 war was associated with substantial deterioration in self-reported mental well-being among Israeli medical students. The findings support the need for targeted mental health and resilience-support strategies within medical schools, ideally introduced early. Future research is needed to examine long-term effects and evaluate any interventions.
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