“Is an Elevated Family-Genetic Risk for Major Psychiatric Disorders Specific to Creative Occupations?”, 2022-06-08 ():
Background: Despite a large descriptive literature linking creativity and risk for psychiatric illness, the magnitude and specificity of this relationship remain controversial.
Method: We examined, in 1,137,354 native Swedes with one of 59 3-digit official and objective occupational codes in managerial and educated classes, their familial genetic risk score (FGRS) for 10 major disorders, calculated from 1st through 5th degree relatives. Mean FGRS across disorders were calculated, in 3-digit and 4-digit occupational groups, and then controlled for those whose disorder onset preceded occupational choice. Using sequential analyses, p-values were evaluated using Bonferroni correction.
…Fifth, individuals of high educational attainment (EA) are over-represented in most ‘creative’ professions (eg. artist, author, professor), and EA is both substantially influenced by genetic factors (Branigan et al 201311ya) and inversely associated with a variety of health outcomes including psychiatric disorders (2011; Escott- et al 2019; et al 2015). Therefore, to unconfound genetic influences on ‘creativity’ and EA, we control for the genetic potential for EA in all analyses. Sixth, to determine the degree to which the impact of genetic risk factors on selection into certain occupations is mediated through the development of the relevant psychiatric illness itself, we present our results both uncontrolled and controlling for the onset of the relevant disorder prior to occupational choice.
Results: 3-digit professions considered to reflect creativity (eg. ‘artists’ and ‘authors’) were among those with statistically-significant elevations of FGRS. Among more specific 4-digit codes, visual artists, actors, and authors stood out with elevated genetic risks, highest for major depression (MD), anxiety disorders (AD) and OCD, more modest for bipolar disorders (BD) and schizophrenia and, for authors, for drug and alcohol use disorders. However, equal or greater elevations in FGRS across disorders were seen for religious (eg. ministers), helping (eg. psychologists, social workers), and teaching/academic occupations (eg. professors). The potential pathway from FGRS → Disorder → Occupation accounts for a modest proportion of the signal, largely for MD and AD risk.
…While we found increased FGRSSZ levels in creative artists and authors, the increases were very modest and do not support prior claims of a strong genetic link between SZ and creativity (1949; 1970, 1984) although is compatible with the modest-sized effects seen using polygenic risk scores ( et al 2015). Our findings for BD risk were somewhat more robust are consistent with the prior positive findings of et al 1988 and et al 2015. We also replicate, albeit with modest signals, prior results showing elevated risk for SZ and BD in relatives of university professors ( et al 2019).
…Conclusion: While traditional creative occupations were associated with elevated genetic risk for a range of psychiatric disorders, this association was not unique, as similar, or greater elevations were seen for religious, helping and teaching professions and was stronger for internalizing than psychotic disorders.
[Keywords: creativity, psychiatric illness, depression, schizophrenia, occupations]