This page is alzhub.org's plain-English summary of a published study, not the paper itself. It is generated from the record we hold for this study, sourced and linked below — check the original for the full text and methods.

62/100

✓ Peer-reviewed alzhub usefulness score 62 out of 100. Long-term cohort studies

Topic: Risk, prevention and care in population studies

Over a maximum follow-up of 26 years, the median time to event was 1·2 years (IQR 0·2-3·3) in the delirium group and 1·3 years (0·3-3·6) in the control group. Delirium was associated with a higher risk of 12 of the 15 adverse clinical outcomes than no delirium, which were urinary incontinence (subdistribution hazard ratio 2·01 [95% CI 1·78-2·28]), falls (1·96 [1·78-2·17]), pressure injury (1·72 [1·53-1·93]), acute kidney injury (1·71 [1·57-1·86]), sepsis (1·67 [1·52-1·84]), hip fracture (1·66 [1·39-2·00]), stroke (1·62 [1·41-1·87]), overall fractures (1·56 [1·40-1·74]), pneumonia (1·53 [1·41-1·65]), faecal incontinence (1·53 [1·31-1·78]), heart failure (1·31 [1·18-1·45]), and gastrointestinal bleeding (1·23 [1·09-1·38]). Each additional episode was associated with a 6-17% higher risk. Findings were consistent across sensitivity analyses excluding individuals with short follow-up, those with prevalent dementia, and the least well-matched pairs. In-hospital delirium was consistently and dose-responsively associated with a range of adverse outcomes, independent of frailty and pre-existing dementia, supporting its recognition as a sentinel event indicating longer-term vulnerability. FUNDING: Sigrid Jusélius Foundation, the Osk Huttunen Foundation, the Biomedicum Helsinki Foundation, and Finska Läkaresällskapet.

Cite this study APA, Vancouver, BibTeX · download .bib or .ris

APA 7th

Haapanen, M. J., Ward, D., Mudge, A., Gordon, E. H., Graham, F. A., Rockwood, K. J., et al. (2026). Delirium and adverse clinical outcomes: a matched cohort study in the UK Biobank. The Lancet Healthy Longevity. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lanhl.2025.100816

Vancouver

Haapanen MJ, Ward D, Mudge A, Gordon EH, Graham FA, Rockwood KJ, et al. Delirium and adverse clinical outcomes: a matched cohort study in the UK Biobank. The Lancet Healthy Longevity. 2026. doi:10.1016/j.lanhl.2025.100816. PMID: 41679317.

BibTeX

@article{haapanen2026-41679317,
  author  = {Haapanen, Markus J. and Ward, David and Mudge, Alison and Gordon, Emily H and Graham, Frederick A. and Rockwood, Kenneth J. and Hubbard, Ruth Eleanor},
  title   = {{Delirium and adverse clinical outcomes: a matched cohort study in the UK Biobank}},
  journal = {The Lancet Healthy Longevity},
  year    = {2026},
  doi     = {10.1016/j.lanhl.2025.100816},
  pmid    = {41679317},
  url     = {https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lanhl.2025.100816}
}

Built from the record alzhub holds for this paper, not looked up. Volume, issue and page numbers are not held in the record. The record names 7 authors; APA and Vancouver show the first six, BibTeX and the downloads carry all of them. Check the citation against the original before you use it.

Key findings

Over a maximum follow-up of 26 years, the median time to event was 1·2 years (IQR 0·2-3·3) in the delirium group and 1·3 years (0·3-3·6) in the control group.
Delirium was associated with a higher risk of 12 of the 15 adverse clinical outcomes than no delirium, which were urinary incontinence (subdistribution hazard ratio 2·01 [95% CI 1·78-2·28]), falls (1·96 [1·78-2·17]), pressure injury (1·72 [1·53-1·93]), acute kidney injury (1·71 [1·57-1·86]), sepsis (1·67 [1·52-1·84]), hip fracture (1·66 [1·39-2·00]), stroke (1·62 [1·41-1·87]), overall fractures (1·56 [1·40-1·74]), pneumonia (1·53 [1·41-1·65]), faecal incontinence (1·53 [1·31-1·78]), heart failure (1·31 [1·18-1·45]), and gastrointestinal bleeding (1·23 [1·09-1·38]).
Each additional episode was associated with a 6-17% higher risk.
Findings were consistent across sensitivity analyses excluding individuals with short follow-up, those with prevalent dementia, and the least well-matched pairs.
In-hospital delirium was consistently and dose-responsively associated with a range of adverse outcomes, independent of frailty and pre-existing dementia, supporting its recognition as a sentinel event indicating longer-term vulnerability.

Why it matters

In this UK Biobank cohort, delirium was linked to a higher risk of 12 of 15 adverse outcomes, and each additional delirium episode was linked to a 6-17% higher risk. The authors say delirium may act as a warning sign of longer-term vulnerability, but the study does not test whether preventing delirium prevents these outcomes.

Study details

Study designcohort study
Participants909
Evidence strengthModerate

How this study scored 62/100

Published in a leading specialty journal, and it is a cohort study following people over time. Scored zero for effect reported and randomized / blinded because the record does not state it.

Component	Points	Why
Journal tier	9 / 10	Tier 2 — leading specialty journal (The Lancet Healthy Longevity)
Journal's citation record	1 / 4	The Lancet Healthy Longevity: journal h-index 78 (OpenAlex, 2026-10-29)
Study design	7 / 12	A cohort study following people over time
Strength of evidence	3 / 5	Rated “moderate” in our summary
Peer-review validation	10 / 10	Peer-reviewed. Published as an article in a named peer-reviewed journal.
How recent	5 / 5	2026 — within 1 year(s) of the newest study here
Sample size	2 / 4	909 participants
Effect reported	0 / 3	No effect size reported — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0)
Studied in people	3 / 3	Studied in people (participant count stated)
Randomized / blinded	0 / 2	No randomization or blinding stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0)
Times cited	2 / 7	Cited 6 times (OpenAlex, 2026-10-10)
Citations per year	2 / 5	3.0 citations a year over 2 year(s) since 2026
Impact for its field and year	5 / 6	Cited 33.6× the average for papers of its field and year (OpenAlex FWCI)
Cited by studies here	1 / 6	Cited by 1 other studies in this library
Still being cited	1 / 4	Cited 6 times in 2024–2026 (2026 still in progress; OpenAlex)
Senior author's track record	3 / 4	Last-listed author Ruth Eleanor Hubbard: h-index 56 (OpenAlex, whole career)
Institution's track record	2 / 3	The University of Queensland: institution h-index 1,516 (OpenAlex)
Multicenter collaboration	2 / 3	OpenAlex lists 6 institution(s) in 3 countries
Indexed in PubMed	2 / 2	Indexed in PubMed (PMID 41679317)
Free to read	2 / 2	Free to read
Total	62 / 100	—

What each of these 20 components measures, and what this score is not →

Read the original

Full text: free to read — OpenAlex lists this copy as free to read: the link above (checked 6 Feb 1020).

Studies in the library that share something with this one. The line above each title says what.

Studies this one cites

Referenced by this study and also in the alzhub library, so you can read them here.

Later studies that cite this one

1 study in the alzhub library lists this one in its references.

Related studies in Long-term cohort studies

Also tagged “palliative”

858 studies in the library carry the topic tag “palliative”; these are this study's neighbours in a fixed, alphabetical-by-hash tour of them, not the closest in content. All 858 tagged studies.

Studies sharing this one's topic tags

Similar studies

More on Long-term cohort studies

See all studies in Long-term cohort studies →