October 7th Trauma Fuels Surge in Israeli Children's Health Issues

Three years after the October 7th attacks, Israeli children are experiencing a significant increase in various health problems, according to data from the "Clalit" health service reported by Ynet. The number of children and adolescents seeking emergency psychiatric care has surged by 121%. There has also been a 47.8% rise in prescriptions for nocturnal enuresis medication among children from families evacuated from southern Israel, and approximately a 60% increase in new diagnoses of high cholesterol among residents who left northern Israel.

The study, which analyzed data from nearly five million "Clalit" insured individuals between October 2023 and September 2026, compared these figures to the two years preceding the war. While some indicators remained relatively stable, many war-related physical and mental health consequences persist.

During the first year of the war, new diagnoses of anxiety disorders in Israel rose by 45.5%, and PTSD cases doubled. In subsequent years, outpatient mental health service referrals remained about 20-28% higher than pre-war levels. Evacuees from the south experienced more severe consequences, with PTSD diagnoses increasing 18-fold in the first year, 11-fold in the second, and six-fold in the third year. Anxiety disorder diagnoses increased tenfold, sleep disorders by approximately 358%, and psychiatric care requests rose 2 to 4.5 times.

Professor Amir Krivoy, director of the Ge'a Mental Health Center, stated that the psychological impact of the war and the October 7th events represents a "deep and ongoing crisis," not a short-term phenomenon. He emphasized the need to expand healthcare capacity, including more specialists and specialized centers, to address the sustained high rates of PTSD.

Nationwide, ADHD medication use increased by 25%. Among evacuees from the south, this rose by 20.5%, and by 5% for residents from the north. Demand for smoking cessation aids saw the largest increase in the south, up 104%, compared to 37% nationally and 26.7% in the north. A previous report indicated that a majority of Israelis fear a repeat of a major security crisis like the October 7th massacre.