The Musically Active Have a Slightly Higher Risk of Some Mental Illness

Music can be great for our mental health, and music is sometimes used as a form of therapy. But it can also seem like creative people including musicians experience more mental health issues than others. Using data from a large Swedish biobank, researchers showed in a 2019 Scientific Reports publication that people who are musically active have a slightly higher genetic risk of depression and bipolar disorder. The research team has now expanded on the findings.

The latest study, reported in Translational Psychiatry, showed that playing instruments or…