Background: The nosological position and clinical relevance of the concept of diabetes distress (DD) are uncertain. The aim of this study was to use latent class analysis (LCA) to categorise classes of people with type 2 diabetes and to compare their characteristics.
Methods: Data from 662 participants in the longitudinal observational Fremantle Diabetes Study Phase II were analysed. LCA identified latent subgroups based on individual responses to the Patient Health Questionnaire-9, the Generalised Anxiety Disorder Scale, and the 5-item Problem Areas in Diabetes Scale.
Results: Four classes were identified: Class 1 (65.7%, no symptoms), Class 2 (14.0%, DD), Class 3 (12.6%, subsyndromal depression (SSD)), and Class 4 (7.6%, major depression (MD)). Multinomial regression analysis with Class 1 as reference showed significant associations between the DD class and Southern European and Asian ethnic background, HbA1c, and BMI. The SSD class was significantly associated with HbA1c, cerebrovascular disease, and coronary heart disease (CHD). The MD class had significant associations with age (inversely), Southern European ethnic background, HbA1c, BMI, and CHD. In conclusion, LCA identified a pure DD group comprising 14.0% of participants. The only variable uniquely associated with the DD class was Asian ethnic background.
Conclusion: Although identification of DD may have some utility in assessing the psychological wellbeing of individuals with type 2 diabetes, it adds little to the assessment of depressive disorder and its significant clinical sequalae.
Keywords: anxiety; depression; diabetes distress; type 2 diabetes.