New York, Dec 16 (IANS): If you feel burnt out often, check for depression signs as researchers have found a definite link between the two.

Psychology professor Irvin Schonfeld from City College of New York has discovered a strong association between burnout and depression.

In a study of more than 5,500 school teachers to estimate the prevalence of depressive disorders in workers with burnout, 90 percent of the subjects identified as burnt out met diagnostic criteria for depression.

The study also examined the overlap of burnout with the atypical subtype of depression.

Features of atypical depression were observed in 63 percent of the burned-out participants with major depression.

"The study suggests that the burnout-depression overlap has been largely underestimated," Schonfeld noted.

Atypical depression may account for a substantial part of this overlap.

"Overall, our findings point to depressive symptoms and depressive disorders as central concerns in the management of burnout. The clinical research on treatments for depression offers solutions that may help workers identified as burned out," he said.

The paper appeared in the International Journal of Stress Management.