Creative people, such as musicians, poets and writers, may have a higher risk of developing bipolar disorder, according to a recent study.

Researchers from Lancaster University in the United Kingdom  and Yale University in Connecticut found specific links between inspiration - the generation of ideas that form the basis of creative work -and bipolar disorder.  They claim that people at higher risk for developing bipolar disorder consistently report stronger experiences of inspiration than those at lower risk, according to a press release.

"Understanding more about inspiration is important because it is a key aspect of creativity which is highly associated with mental health problems, in particular bipolar disorder," researcher Steven Jones of Lancaster University said in a statement. "People with bipolar disorder highly value creativity as a positive aspect of their condition."

For the study, researchers recruited 835 undergraduate students from both Yale University and Lancaster University, and asked them to complete online questionnaires.

They were asked to completed questionnaires that measured their bipolar risk, and explored beliefs about inspiration, in particular the sources of inspiration - whether individuals thought it came from within themselves, from others or the wider environment.

The students who scored highly for a risk of bipolar also consistently scored more highly than the others for levels of inspiration and for inspiration which they judged to have come from themselves.

"This is relevant to clinicians, as people with bipolar disorder may be unwilling to engage with treatments and therapies which compromise their creativity," Jones said.

Researchers said that although inspiration and bipolar risk are linked, it is important to explore other variables to get a fuller picture and to conduct further research with individuals with a clinical diagnosis of bipolar disorder.

Their findings were recently published in PLOS One.