Two distinct psychological concepts: Diabetes depression and diabetes burnout profiles

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Diabetes burnout represents a unique experience that shares some similarities with other psychological concepts. Differentiating diabetes burnout from depression symptoms is a challenging issue. This study aims to examine diabetes burnout profiles and their association with depression. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted in Iran in 2023. Individuals with type 2 diabetes over 18 years old (N = 1300) were recruited through convenience sampling. Data collection was conducted through demographic information, Personal Health Questionnaire Depression Scale (PHQ), and Diabetes Burnout Scale (DBS). Unsupervised clustering methods were utilized to determine the optimal number of profiles. RESULTS: Five burnout profiles were found (fully burned-out, overextended, exhausted, on the threshold of burnout, and not-burned-out(. The mean burnout score increases as we move from the not-burned-out profile to the fully burned-out profile. The mean depression score was 7.04. Some individuals (n = 124) who were not-burned-out still experience different depression levels. As depression levels increase, burnout levels also tend to increase. It is noteworthy that while depressed individuals are also burned-out, not all individuals experiencing burnout are necessarily depressed. This is a crucial finding in distinguishing between these concepts. CONCLUSION: Addressing burnout based on profiles could be more effective for individuals with diabetes. It is a foundation for further exploring the development of diabetes burnout profiles over time and its relationship with diabetes management and outcomes.

Keywords

• depressive symptoms
• diabetes burnout
• diabetes mellitus