Higher conflict exposure linked to worse mental and physical health in large Israeli cohort
Mar 6th 2026
A retrospective study of 208,625 Israeli adults using 18 years of electronic health records shows that residential proximity to conflict, measured by shelter time, maps onto higher psychiatric diagnoses, infection and autoimmune patterns, altered blood biomarkers and increased mortality for middle‑aged men, with the October 7, 2023 attacks amplifying many effects.
- Researchers analyzed 208,625 Leumit Health Services records from 2005–2024 and classified exposure by residential shelter time: 15 seconds high, 30–60 seconds moderate, 90 seconds low.
- Before October 7, 2023, women in the moderate exposure zone had the highest psychiatric prevalence, and after October 7 psychiatric diagnoses rose across all zones with the largest increases in the high exposure (15 s) group.
- Antidepressant and anxiolytic prescriptions increased significantly after October 7, with the steepest rises in high-exposure residents.
- High-exposure men showed higher rates of bacterial pneumonia and elevated white blood cell counts, while moderate-exposure women had higher rates of organ-specific autoimmune disorders.
- Standard blood markers shifted by exposure: elevated mean corpuscular volume in moderate-exposure adults, and increases in GGT, ALT, ALP and AST that were most pronounced after October 7 and in younger men.
- Adjusted models found high exposure (15 s) associated with a 6.7-fold higher odds of psychiatric diagnosis and elevated ALP in the 15 s zone linked to a twofold higher odds of autoimmune disease.
- Men aged 46–64 living in the highest exposure zone had an 88% higher mortality risk compared with low exposure, while women in the same age group did not show increased mortality in the highest exposure zone.