{"id":135878,"date":"2025-09-11T10:09:12","date_gmt":"2025-09-11T10:09:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/135878\/"},"modified":"2025-09-11T10:09:12","modified_gmt":"2025-09-11T10:09:12","slug":"smartwatches-detected-early-signs-of-ptsd-in-those-indirectly-exposed-to-oct-7-attack","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/135878\/","title":{"rendered":"Smartwatches detected early signs of PTSD in those indirectly exposed to Oct. 7 attack"},"content":{"rendered":"

A team of researchers from Tel Aviv University has found that smartwatches containing digital biomarkers can detect early signs of PTSD among wearers.<\/p>\n

The three-year study \u2014 which was carried out both before and after the October 7, 2023, Hamas attack \u2014 involved more than 5,000 Israelis, and reported that such devices could sense the onset of post-traumatic stress disorder, even among those only indirectly exposed to traumatic events through the media.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe percentages of PTSD and anxiety were extremely high among people who were not hurt themselves, or didn\u2019t have a close relative who was hurt\u201d in the Hamas attack, said Prof. Erez Shmueli, head of the Big Data Lab, and Prof. Dan Yamin, head of the Lab for Digital Epidemiology and Health Analytics, both at Tel Aviv\u2019s School of Industrial and Intelligent Systems Engineering, who led the team of researchers in Israel and at Stanford University.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe GoPro videos that the terrorists shared on TikTok and other platforms actually make you feel the events more closely,\u201d Shmueli told The Times of Israel. \u201cWhen we looked at the effect of news consumption and watching gory videos, we saw a real difference between people who consumed the news and videos compared to those who didn\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n

While most PTSD research focuses on people directly exposed to violence, this study examined those indirectly affected through news and social media consumption.<\/p>\n

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The study, which was published on Wednesday in the peer-reviewed PLOS Mental Health<\/a> journal, found that smartwatches, combined with questionnaires, can pick up subtle physiological and behavioral changes that foreshadow PTSD, and can help improve public health strategies.<\/p>\n

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Prof. Erez Shmueli, head of the Big Data Lab at the School of Industrial and Intelligent Systems Engineering at Tel Aviv University (Courtesy)<\/p>\n

Stress levels didn\u2019t return to normal<\/p>\n

The researchers involved in the study had already been using smartwatches to track participants for another survey,<\/a> which focused on studying the symptoms and spread of three infectious diseases \u2014 COVID-19, influenza and group A streptocococcus (GAS).<\/p>\n

These same participants continued in the study, completing a daily questionnaire assessing their stress levels, and wearing a smartwatch that tracked various measures of well-being, such as daily heart rate, number of steps they took and sleep quality.<\/p>\n

For Shmueli, one of the most striking results was the persistence of stress long after the devastating Hamas-led attack. The analysis showed that two months after October 7, PTSD rates reached 22.9%-36% among participants, and even months after the attack, the rates remained at 15.9%-24.7% of those surveyed.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn most other events, we saw an immediate return to routine on average,\u201d Shmueli explained. \u201cAfter October 7, even a year later, the level of stress was still very high.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Prof. Dan Yamin, head of the lab for Digital Epidemiology and Health Analytics at Tel Aviv University. (Courtesy\/Tel Aviv University)<\/p>\n

Social media\u2019s significant impact<\/p>\n

\u201cWe now live in an era where a lot of our exposure to events is coming from social media,\u201d Shmueli added.<\/p>\n

He pointed out that during the September 11 al-Qaeda attacks on the US in 2001 \u2014 which killed nearly 3,000 people \u2014 social media was not widely used, and rates of PTSD among indirectly-exposed populations were lower.<\/p>\n

The study found that 33% of participants who watched extensive amounts of news coverage or graphic videos of the attacks on such platforms as Telegram and TikTok had a higher risk of developing PTSD. Among those who didn\u2019t consume content on those platforms, only 7% exhibited early signs of PTSD.<\/p>\n

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Hamas terrorists attack the IDF\u2019s Nahal Oz base on October 7, 2023, as seen in footage released by the terror group. (Screenshot: Telegram)<\/p>\n

Early warning signs<\/p>\n

Clinically, PTSD can only be diagnosed 30 days after a traumatic event. But in the study, participants who later developed PTSD showed distinct changes in the first week after October 7.<\/p>\n

Smartwatches and daily questionnaires can provide immediate early markers for PTSD, Shmueli said.<\/p>\n

\u201cPeople who will later be diagnosed with post-trauma tend to have higher self-reported stress levels, they sleep less, the quality of their sleep is lower, and they do fewer steps,\u201d he explained. \u201cSuch information, if provided to machine learning and AI models, could help identify people with a higher likelihood of developing PTSD.\u201d<\/p>\n

That early identification matters because treatment is most effective when started quickly, he pointed out.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe earlier you diagnose it, the earlier you can treat it, and the better the results are,\u201d Shmueli said. \u201cYou can prevent progression \u2014 you can actually, in some way, eliminate the outcome, or at least reduce its effect.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Illustrative: Family and friends attend the funeral of a reservist soldier who died by suicide after 300 days of reserve duty, at the cemetery in Netanya, August 1, 2025 (Tal Gal\/Flash90)<\/p>\n

A \u2018first line of defense\u2019<\/p>\n

Given the strain on Israel\u2019s mental health system, Shmueli sees potential in digital tools for milder cases. \u201cEven if you can identify some portion of people early and treat them \u2014 maybe with mobile apps for relieving symptoms \u2014 you can leave the health system for the more difficult cases,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

He pointed to PTSD Coach<\/a>, an app developed by the US Army and Stanford, designed for veterans experiencing symptoms of PTSD. Although it is not a replacement for therapy, Shmueli said it is an example that \u201cactually works pretty well.\u201d<\/p>\n

Shmueli believes there is progress in developing this kind of app in Israel so that smartwatches, apps and AI become a \u201cfirst line of defense,\u201d flagging cases early and easing the burden on healthcare professionals.<\/p>\n

These early markers are especially important now, \u201cas we are starting to understand the effect of the events of the war and October 7,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe number of people who are turning to the mental health system is huge,\u201d he noted. \u201cOur system has a lot of difficulties in treating all the people who need services.\u201d<\/p>\n

While the study highlights limitations, such as reliance on self-reported surveys rather than clinical diagnoses, it underscores how wearable technology could transform mental health care in times of crisis.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf we can identify and support people as early as possible, it can make a real difference,\u201d Shmueli said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A team of researchers from Tel Aviv University has found that smartwatches containing digital biomarkers can detect early…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":135879,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[35],"tags":[49,48,84,393,394],"class_list":{"0":"post-135878","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-mental-health","8":"tag-ca","9":"tag-canada","10":"tag-health","11":"tag-mental-health","12":"tag-mentalhealth"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/135878","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=135878"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/135878\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/135879"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=135878"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=135878"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=135878"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}