👤 David Stacey

Various adverse mental health outcomes (e.g., burnout) have been reported and shown to impact the longevity of veterinarians' careers, especially during the early career. Both compassion fatigue (CF) and compassion satisfaction (CS) are significant predictors of burnout. Increasing attention is being paid to positive psychology, including psychological wellbeing (PWB) and resilience, as they have the potential to enhance wellbeing in the profession. The objectives of this research were to measure various psychological outcomes of newly graduated veterinarians in Canada and identify underlying profiles based on empirical data. An online questionnaire with validated psychometric scales was distributed to graduates of all five Canadian veterinary schools in 2022 and 2023. Latent profile analysis (LPA) (n = 189) revealed two profiles, interpreted as follows: thriving (n = 116; high PWB, CS and resilience, and low burnout and CF) and surviving (n = 73; low PWB, CS and resilience, and high burnout and CF). The sample size was smaller than typically recommended for LPA. Our findings revealed that 61% (116/191) of newly graduated veterinarians were considered to have good mental wellbeing or were 'thriving'. Our study amplifies the need for more research on positive wellbeing outcomes and interventions to strengthen veterinary students' and veterinarians' wellbeing. Show less

Bipolar disorder (BPD) is a debilitating mood disorder with an unclear etiology. A better understanding of the underlying pathophysiological mechanisms will help to identify novel targets for improved treatment options and prevention strategies. In this metabolome-wide Mendelian randomization study, we screened for metabolites that may have a causal role in BPD. We tested a total of 913 circulating metabolite exposures assessed in 14,296 Europeans using a mass spectrometry-based platform. For the BPD outcome, we used summary data from the largest and most recent genome-wide association study reported to date, including 41,917 BPD cases. We identified 33 metabolites associated with BPD (p Overall, our findings support the notion that arachidonic acid and other polyunsaturated fatty acids may represent potential targets for BPD. Show less

In the last decade, over 175 genetic loci have robustly been associated to levels of major circulating blood lipids. Most loci are specific to one or two lipids, whereas some (SUGP1, ZPR1, TRIB1, HERPUD1, and FADS1) are associated to all. While exposing the polygenic architecture of circulating lipids and the underpinnings of dyslipidaemia, these genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have provided further evidence of the critical role that lipids play in coronary heart disease (CHD) risk, as indicated by the 2.7-fold enrichment for macrophage gene expression in atherosclerotic plaques and the association of 25 loci (such as PCSK9, APOB, ABCG5-G8, KCNK5, LPL, HMGCR, NPC1L1, CETP, TRIB1, ABO, PMAIP1-MC4R, and LDLR) with CHD. These GWAS also confirmed known and commonly used therapeutic targets, including HMGCR (statins), PCSK9 (antibodies), and NPC1L1 (ezetimibe). As we head into the post-GWAS era, we offer suggestions for how to move forward beyond genetic risk loci, towards refining the biology behind the associations and identifying causal genes and therapeutic targets. Deep phenotyping through lipidomics and metabolomics will refine and increase the resolution to find causal and druggable targets, and studies aimed at demonstrating gene transcriptional and regulatory effects of lipid associated loci will further aid in identifying these targets. Thus, we argue the need for deeply phenotyped, large genetic association studies to reduce costs and failures and increase the efficiency of the drug discovery pipeline. We conjecture that in the next decade a paradigm shift will tip the balance towards a data-driven approach to therapeutic target development and the application of precision medicine where human genomics takes centre stage. Show less