Creativity linked to mental illness in new study

People in creative professions are more likely to suffer from a mental illness than the rest of the population, a major new Swedish study has confirmed.

Karolinska Institutet has carried out the most comprehensive study to date of this issue by analysing data from almost 1.2 million people, finding that illnesses such as bipolar disorder are more prevalent among those artistic or scientific professions.

Groups at risk include dancers, researchers and photographers, while writers and authors showed a particularly strong link to schizophrenia, depression, anxiety syndrome and substance abuse, as well as being 50 percent more likely to commit suicide.

This confirms the findings of a previous study by the organisation and adds credence to the theory that psychiatric diseases should not be viewed in black and white terms.

Simon Kyaga, consultant in psychiatry and doctoral student at the university's department of medical epidemiology and biostatistics, said: "If one takes the view that certain phenomena associated with the patient's illness are beneficial, it opens the way for a new approach to treatment."

Last year, a study by Cambridge University showed that autism is more common among IT-rich populations, due to the link between this condition and the positive mental attribute of systemising.