Evidence map›Paper›PMID 42495005›Full record

ArticleBJA open2026

Biological sex and its influence on delirium in adult ICU patients: a single-centre retrospective cohort study.

Jessica Cassavaugh, Marina Sennaraj, Mei Chen, Meiyang Liu, Siddhartha R Janga, Carsten Marcus, Margaret M Hayes, Balachundhar Subramaniam, Somnath Bose

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In one paragraph

Article in BJA open, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

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1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

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3 · Its place in the literature

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4 · The record

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5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

9 authors.

Jessica CassavaughDepartment of Anesthesia, Critical Care and Pain Medicine, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.
Marina SennarajDepartment of Anesthesia, Critical Care and Pain Medicine, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.
Mei ChenDepartment of Anesthesia, Critical Care and Pain Medicine, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.
Meiyang LiuDepartment of Anesthesia, Critical Care and Pain Medicine, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.
Siddhartha R JangaDepartment of Anesthesia, Critical Care and Pain Medicine, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.
Carsten MarcusDepartment of Anesthesia, Critical Care and Pain Medicine, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.
Margaret M HayesDepartment of Medicine, Division of Pulmonary, Critical Care and Sleep Medicine, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Centre, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.
Balachundhar SubramaniamDepartment of Anesthesia, Critical Care and Pain Medicine, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.
Somnath BoseDepartment of Anesthesia, Critical Care and Pain Medicine, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Background: Delirium is common among ICU patients and has been shown to be consistently associated with worse outcomes. Distinct outcomes among biological sexes in ICUs are being increasingly recognised; however, their role in the risk of delirium remains poorly characterised. Methods: This retrospective cohort study included adult patients admitted to ICUs at a tertiary-level academic medical centre from 2011 to 2024. The primary outcome was the incidence of delirium, measured using the Confusion Assessment Method for the ICU assessment tool as part of routine clinical care. Multivariable logistic regression analyses were used to characterise the association between biological sex and ICU delirium. Incidence of delirium between differing age groups and ICU admission types was also evaluated. Results: Of the 38 192 patients included, 56.1% (21 541) were male. In total, 46% (17 447) of patients experienced delirium during their ICU stay. Compared with female patients, male patients had a lower incidence of ICU delirium (adjusted odds ratio [aOR], 0.88; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.83-0.93; Conclusions: Male patients had a lower incidence of ICU delirium. This association was most notable among patients admitted to medical ICUs. Assessment for delirium risk may include consideration of biological sex.

Indexed as

biological sexcritical illnessdeliriummedical ICUneurocognitive dysfunction

Identifiers

PMID42495005
PMCPMC13393781

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.