summary: A new study reports that musicians and active musicians tend to have higher genetic risk factors for bipolar disorder and depression.
sauce: Max Planck Institute
Intuitively, people generally believe that making music is good for their mental health. Music therapy also relies on the positive impact of music on mental health problems.
However, musicians are more likely to suffer from depression and anxiety disorders than less active people. How can this be explained?
An international research team involving the Max Planck Institute for Experiential Aesthetics (MPIEA) in Frankfurt am Main, Germany, investigated in detail the relationship between music-making and mental health and found that people who are active in music On average, they found a slightly higher genetic risk of mental illness. Depression and Bipolar Disorder.
Music production and mental health issues: interrelationships?
In a large-scale population study, scientists were able to demonstrate for the first time in 2019 the link between musical engagement and mental health problems. About 10,500 Swedish participants provided information on both musical engagement and mental health.
In addition, the data were linked to a Swedish patient registry so that psychiatric diagnoses could also be evaluated. We found that participants who were active in music reported symptoms of depression, burnout, and psychosis more frequently than participants who did not make music.
resulting in Published in an open access journal scientific report 2019.
Because the study participants were twins, the research team was able to account for familial influences. These influences include both childhood genes and home environment. Twins usually grow up in the same household at the same time. Furthermore, they have completely or at least partially the same genes, depending on whether they are identical or dizygotic twins.
The team found that musical engagement, such as playing an instrument or singing, and mental health problems are probably not causally related. and vice versa,” explains MPIEA lead author Laura Wesseldijk. “Rather, this association may result from shared genetic factors and influences from the family environment.”
The genetic relationship between musical engagement and mental health
Scientists then continued to explore the relationship between music engagement and mental health using molecular genetics techniques. They found some overlap between genetic variants affecting mental health problems and those affecting engagement with music.
The results of this second study were recently published in an open access journal. translational psychiatry.
The team used the DNA of 5,648 individuals to examine genetic links between music production and mental health. In addition to genotype data, study participants provided information on their musical engagement, creative and athletic achievements, and mental health.
Based on the available information, we can calculate individual indices (the so-called “polygenic score”) of a participant’s genetic risk of mental illness and genetic predisposition to musicality.
An analysis of the data found that people at higher genetic risk for depression and bipolar disorder were, on average, more musically active, practiced more, and had higher artistic levels. Interestingly, these associations occurred regardless of whether the individuals actually experienced mental health problems.
At the same time, participants with a higher genetic predisposition to musicality had, on average, a slightly higher risk of developing depression, regardless of whether they actually played an instrument. It further supports the idea that genes influence musical engagement and mental health.
As such, the overall relationship between music production and mental health is highly complex. Family and genetic factors can affect both musicality and mental health. In addition, musicians appear to have slightly higher genetic risks for certain mental illnesses,” said Miriam Morsing of his MPIEA, senior author of both studies.
Of course, these results do not rule out the possibility that music production has a positive impact on mental health. Music involvement can have positive or even therapeutic effects.
The team is already doing further research in this area and is also considering Flow’s experience. “Flow” refers to the experience of full immersion in an activity, also experienced during cultural activities such as playing musical instruments.
Early results indicate that flow experiences can have a positive impact on mental health, even when family and genetic factors are taken into account.
About this music, genetics and mental health research news
author: press office
sauce: Max Planck Institute
contact: Press Office – Max Planck Institute
image: image is public domain
See also
Original research: open access.
“A Comprehensive Investigation of the Genetic Relationship Between Music Engagement and Mental HealthLaura W. Wesseldyke and others translational psychiatry
overview
A Comprehensive Investigation of the Genetic Relationship Between Music Engagement and Mental Health
Musical participation is often seen as beneficial for mental health, but some studies report an increased risk of depression and anxiety in musicians.
This study used measured genotypes to determine whether shared underlying genetic influences (genetic pleiotropy) or gene-environment interactions are involved in the association between music and mental health. Investigate.
Using information on musical and sports engagement, creative achievements, self-reported mental health, and psychiatric diagnoses based on national patient registries, 5,648 twins in Sweden were analyzed for major depression, bipolar We derived polygenic scores for sexual disorders, schizophrenia, neurosis, susceptibility to environmental stressors, and depression. Symptoms and general musicality.
In line with phenotypic associations, individuals with higher polygenic scores for major depression and bipolar disorder played music, practiced more music, and achieved higher levels of general artistic achievement. more likely to play, and higher genetic predisposition to general musicality was marginally associated with higher levels. Risk of being diagnosed with depression.
Importantly, polygenic scores for major depression and bipolar disorder remained associated with musical engagement even when individuals who experienced psychiatric symptoms were excluded. Just as genetic predisposition predicted a diagnosis of depression regardless of whether and how much an individual played music.
Furthermore, no evidence of gene-environment interaction was found. Phenotypic associations between musical engagement and mental health outcomes did not differ among individuals with different genetic vulnerabilities to mental health problems.
Overall, our findings suggest that the mental health problems seen in highly musically active individuals are partially explained by pre-existing genetic risk for depression and bipolar disorder, suggesting that the causal effects of mental health rather, it likely reflects horizontal pleiotropy (where one gene affects multiple traits). Musical engagement, or vice versa (called vertical pleiotropy).
