Home › Research › Clinical safety
Delirium as a Precursor to Dementia in Elderly Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus Patients
Mingyang Sun, Xiaoling Wang, Zhongyuan Lu, Yi Yang, Shuang Lv, Mengrong Miao, Wan‐Ming Chen, Szu‐Yuan Wu et al.. The Journal of Clinical Psychiatry, 2025-05-16
Topic: Risk, prevention and care in population studies
This study aimed to investigate the association between delirium and incident dementia in elderly (≥65 years) type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) patients, addressing the heightened dementia risk in this population. newly diagnosed between January 1, 2005, and December 31, 2007. Patients were categorized into delirium and no delirium groups. A rigorous propensity score matching algorithm was applied to ensure optimal balance of baseline covariates, thereby minimizing selection bias and confounding, and Cox regression models along with competing risk analyses assessed the risk of incident dementia. value <.0001. The data reveal a clear dose-response pattern, wherein each additional delirium episode substantially amplifies dementia risk, underscoring the cumulative impact of repeated episodes on cognitive deterioration: no episodes (4.40 per 100 person-years), 1 episode (7.62 per 100 person-years), and 2 or more episodes (8.41 per 100 person-years). Our findings confirm a strong association between delirium and an increased risk of dementia in elderly (≥65 years) T2DM patients, suggesting a potential causal link. Effective delirium management in elderly T2DM patients is imperative to mitigate dementia risk. These findings advocate for targeted interventions to alleviate the substantial cognitive burden in this vulnerable population.
Key findings
- Our findings confirm a strong association between delirium and an increased risk of dementia in elderly (≥65 years) T2DM patients, suggesting a potential causal link.
- These findings advocate for targeted interventions to alleviate the substantial cognitive burden in this vulnerable population.
Why it matters
This study found a strong association between delirium and increased risk of dementia in elderly type 2 diabetes patients, with a dose-response pattern where each additional delirium episode amplified dementia risk. The authors suggest a potential causal link and advocate for targeted interventions, but the study design cannot prove causation.
Study details
- Evidence strengthLow
How this study scored 33/100
Published in a peer-reviewed journal. Scored zero for study design, sample size, effect reported, studied in people and randomised / blinded because the record does not state it.
| Component | Points | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Journal tier | 7 / 10 | Tier 3 — peer-reviewed journal (The Journal of Clinical Psychiatry) |
| Journal's citation record | 2 / 4 | The Journal of Clinical Psychiatry: journal h-index 248 (OpenAlex, 2026-10-29) |
| Study design | 0 / 12 | No study design recorded — scores zero, not guessed (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Strength of evidence | 1 / 5 | Rated “low” in our summary |
| Peer-review validation | 10 / 10 | Peer-reviewed. Published as an article in a named peer-reviewed journal. |
| How recent | 4 / 5 | 2025 — within 3 year(s) of the newest study here |
| Sample size | 0 / 4 | Participant count not stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Effect reported | 0 / 3 | No effect size reported — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Studied in people | 0 / 3 | Not stated whether this was studied in people — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Randomised / blinded | 0 / 2 | No randomisation or blinding stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Times cited | 1 / 7 | Cited 2 times (OpenAlex, 2026-10-10) |
| Citations per year | 0 / 5 | 0.7 citations a year over 3 year(s) since 2025 |
| Impact for its field and year | 2 / 6 | Cited 1.5× the average for papers of its field and year (OpenAlex FWCI) |
| Cited by studies here | 0 / 6 | No other study in this library cites it |
| Still being cited | 0 / 4 | Cited 2 times in 2024–2026 (2026 still in progress; OpenAlex) |
| Senior author's track record | 2 / 4 | Last-listed author Jiaqiang Zhang: h-index 29 (OpenAlex, whole career) |
| Institution's track record | 0 / 3 | Zhengzhou University: institution h-index 522 (OpenAlex) |
| Multi-centre collaboration | 2 / 3 | OpenAlex lists 7 institution(s) in 2 countries |
| Indexed in PubMed | 2 / 2 | Indexed in PubMed (PMID 40767775) |
| Free to read | 0 / 2 | Behind a paywall — scores zero |
| Total | 33 / 100 | — |
What each of these 20 components measures, and what this score is not →
Read the original
May need a subscription OpenAlex found no free copy of the full text (checked 6 Feb 1020), so the publisher may charge for it. The PubMed abstract is free.
Cite this study APA, Vancouver, BibTeX · download .bib or .ris
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's author list ends in “et al.”, so not every author is named. Check the citation against the original before you use it.
APA 7th
Sun, M., Wang, X., Lu, Z., Yang, Y., Lv, S., Miao, M., et al. (2025). Delirium as a Precursor to Dementia in Elderly Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus Patients. The Journal of Clinical Psychiatry. https://doi.org/10.4088/jcp.25m15798
Vancouver
Sun M, Wang X, Lu Z, Yang Y, Lv S, Miao M, et al. Delirium as a Precursor to Dementia in Elderly Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus Patients. The Journal of Clinical Psychiatry. 2025. doi:10.4088/jcp.25m15798. PMID: 40767775.
BibTeX
@article{sun2025-40767775,
author = {Sun, Mingyang and Wang, Xiaoling and Lu, Zhongyuan and Yang, Yi and Lv, Shuang and Miao, Mengrong and Chen, Wan‐Ming and Wu, Szu‐Yuan and others},
title = {{Delirium as a Precursor to Dementia in Elderly Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus Patients}},
journal = {The Journal of Clinical Psychiatry},
year = {2025},
doi = {10.4088/jcp.25m15798},
pmid = {40767775},
url = {https://doi.org/10.4088/jcp.25m15798}
}