{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,24]],"date-time":"2026-09-24T20:50:27Z","timestamp":1790283027532,"version":"4.1.0"},"reference-count":24,"publisher":"Frontiers Media SA","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,6,24]],"date-time":"2026-06-24T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1782259200000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["frontiersin.org"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Front. Public Health"],"abstract":"<jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Background<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>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.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Objective<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>This study examined the impact of the 2023 October 7th war on Israeli medical students\u2019 mental health, well-being, lifestyle behaviors, academic function and coping strategies.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Methods<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>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\u2019s rank correlation was used to assess associations between war-related exposure variables and health outcomes.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Results<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>\n                      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 (\n                      <jats:italic>p<\/jats:italic>\n                      \u202f=\u202f0.037) than females (Male: M\u202f=\u202f39.38, SD\u202f=\u202f6.90; Female: M\u202f=\u202f36.09, SD\u202f=\u202f7.65). Reserve service was significantly associated with poorer mental health status (Spearman\u2019s rank correlation coefficient,\n                      <jats:italic>r<\/jats:italic>\n                      \u202f=\u202f\u22120.2248,\n                      <jats:italic>p<\/jats:italic>\n                      \u202f=\u202f0.01). 94 (80%) reported a reduction in ability to study and 72 (61%) poorer academic progress. Primary coping strategies included watching television 67 (58%), spending time with family 65 (57%), and physical activity 54 (47%).\n                    <\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Conclusion<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>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.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.3389\/fpubh.2026.1813271","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,6,24]],"date-time":"2026-06-24T04:43:07Z","timestamp":1782276187000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/crossmark-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":1,"title":["The impact of the October 7th war on Israeli medical students\u2019 mental health and well-being"],"prefix":"10.3389","volume":"14","author":[{"given":"Jumanah","family":"Essa-Hadad","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Azrieli Faculty of Medicine, Bar Ilan University","place":["Safed, Israel"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Mary C. J.","family":"Rudolf","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Azrieli Faculty of Medicine, Bar Ilan University","place":["Safed, Israel"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Lilach","family":"Malatskey","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Azrieli Faculty of Medicine, Bar Ilan University","place":["Safed, Israel"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1965","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,6,24]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"111479","DOI":"10.1016\/j.jpsychores.2023.111479","article-title":"The worldwide prevalence of self-reported psychological and behavioral symptoms in medical students: an umbrella review and meta-analysis of meta-analyses","volume":"173","author":"Jahrami","year":"2023","journal-title":"J Psychosom Res"},{"key":"ref2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"33792","DOI":"10.1038\/s41598-025-99177-4","article-title":"Identifying factors contributing to depression and anxiety among medical students: a multicenter cross-sectional study","volume":"15","author":"Mengesha","year":"2025","journal-title":"Sci Rep"},{"key":"ref3","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"240","DOI":"10.1016\/S0140-6736(19)30934-1","article-title":"New WHO prevalence estimates of mental disorders in conflict settings: a systematic review and meta-analysis","volume":"394","author":"Charlson","year":"2019","journal-title":"Lancet"},{"key":"ref4","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"173","DOI":"10.1186\/s12909-017-1012-2","article-title":"Psychological distress among medical students in conflicts: a cross-sectional study from Syria","volume":"17","author":"Al Saadi","year":"2017","journal-title":"BMC Med Educ"},{"key":"ref5","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"97","DOI":"10.1186\/s12888-023-04593-3","article-title":"The prevalence of stress among medical students in Syria and its association with social support: a cross-sectional study","volume":"23","author":"Al Houri","year":"2023","journal-title":"BMC Psychiatry"},{"key":"ref6","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"e086495","DOI":"10.1136\/bmjopen-2024-086495","article-title":"Effect of military conflict on mental health: a cross-sectional study among the medical students at Khartoum governmental universities, Sudan, 2023","volume":"15","author":"Alfadul","year":"2025","journal-title":"BMJ Open"},{"key":"ref7","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"1457026","DOI":"10.3389\/fpubh.2024.1457026","article-title":"The psychological well-being and academic performance of Ukrainian medical students under the burden of war: a cross-sectional study","volume":"12","author":"Korda","year":"2025","journal-title":"Front Public Health"},{"key":"ref8","volume-title":"Stress, Appraisal, and Coping","author":"Lazarus","year":"1984"},{"key":"ref9","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"254","DOI":"10.5195\/ijms.2023.2476","article-title":"The silent casualties: war\u2019s impact on medical students and medical education","volume":"11","author":"Takoutsing","year":"2023","journal-title":"Int J Med Stud"},{"key":"ref10","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"793","DOI":"10.1111\/medu.14808","article-title":"Maintaining health professional education during war: a scoping review","volume":"56","author":"Dobiesz","year":"2022","journal-title":"Med Educ"},{"key":"ref11","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"2175","DOI":"10.3390\/ejihpe14080145","article-title":"War-related stress among Israeli college students following 7 October 2023 terror attack in Israel","volume":"14","author":"Dopelt","year":"2024","journal-title":"Eur J Investig Health Psychol Educ"},{"key":"ref12","first-page":"8","article-title":"The effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on the mental health and learning abilities of medical students: a cross-sectional study","volume":"1","author":"Peer","year":"2021","journal-title":"JIMS"},{"key":"ref13","volume-title":"Swords of Iron: Key Data and Analysis of the Northern Front","year":"2024"},{"key":"ref14","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"3956","DOI":"10.3390\/ijerph17113956","article-title":"Distress and resilience in the days of COVID-19: comparing two ethnicities","volume":"17","author":"Kimhi","year":"2020","journal-title":"IJERPH"},{"key":"ref15","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"76","DOI":"10.1002\/da.10113","article-title":"Development of a new resilience scale: the Connor-Davidson resilience scale (CD-RISC)","volume":"18","author":"Connor","year":"2003","journal-title":"Depress Anxiety"},{"key":"ref16","volume-title":"Manual for the Depression, Anxiety, Stress, Scale","author":"Lovibond","year":"1995"},{"key":"ref17","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"1220614","DOI":"10.3389\/fpubh.2023.1220614","article-title":"Mental health, study skills, social support, and barriers to seeking psychological help among university students: a call for mental health support in higher education","volume":"11","author":"Hyseni Duraku","year":"2023","journal-title":"Front Public Health"},{"key":"ref18","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"26","DOI":"10.1093\/milmed\/usac292","article-title":"Military medical students' coping with stress to maintain well-being","volume":"188","author":"Ma","year":"2023","journal-title":"Mil Med"},{"key":"ref19","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"7","DOI":"10.1186\/s12909-025-08171-x","article-title":"The effect of resilience training on resilience and stress in medical students: a systematic review and meta-analysis","volume":"26","author":"Sperling","year":"2025","journal-title":"BMC Med Educ"},{"key":"ref20","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"49","DOI":"10.4103\/jehp.jehp_327_18","article-title":"The effectiveness of group training of cognitive behavioral therapy-based stress management on anxiety, hardiness and self-efficacy in female medical students","volume":"8","author":"Sahranavard","year":"2019","journal-title":"J Educ Health Promot"},{"key":"ref21","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"2237","DOI":"10.1001\/jama.2016.17573","article-title":"Association between learning environment interventions and medical student well-being: a systematic review","volume":"316","author":"Wasson","year":"2016","journal-title":"JAMA"},{"key":"ref22","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"537","DOI":"10.1097\/ACM.0000000000002117","article-title":"Creating structured opportunities for social engagement to promote well-being and avoid burnout in medical students and residents","volume":"93","author":"Ziegelstein","year":"2018","journal-title":"Acad Med"},{"key":"ref23","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"1085","DOI":"10.1080\/07448481.2025.2492174","article-title":"Effectiveness of physical activity, mindfulness and mind-body therapies in improving mental health of university students: a systematic review of RCTS","volume":"74","author":"Garc\u00eda-P\u00e9rez","year":"2025","journal-title":"J Am Coll Heal"},{"key":"ref24","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"399","DOI":"10.1002\/jclp.23781","article-title":"Psychological interventions for sleep problems among medical and paramedical students: a systematic review","volume":"81","author":"A Mariappan","year":"2025","journal-title":"J Clin Psychol"}],"container-title":["Frontiers in Public Health"],"original-title":[],"link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/www.frontiersin.org\/articles\/10.3389\/fpubh.2026.1813271\/full","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2026,6,24]],"date-time":"2026-06-24T04:43:20Z","timestamp":1782276200000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/www.frontiersin.org\/articles\/10.3389\/fpubh.2026.1813271\/full"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2026,6,24]]},"references-count":24,"alternative-id":["10.3389\/fpubh.2026.1813271"],"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/fpubh.2026.1813271","relation":{},"ISSN":["2296-2565"],"issn-type":[{"value":"2296-2565","type":"electronic"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2026,6,24]]},"article-number":"1813271"}}