BMI, Comorbidity Burden, and Postoperative Delirium in Older Adults: A Retrospective Cohort Study.
Overweight and class 1 obesity linked to less delirium only if comorbidity burden is low
BMI, Comorbidity Burden, and Postoperative Delirium in Older Adults: A Retrospective Cohort Study.
Postoperative delirium (postoperative delirium) is a serious complication in older surgical patients.
This retrospective cohort study included 4320 patients aged ≥65 years who underwent noncardiac, non-neurological surgery under general anesthesia (2015-2024).
in low comorbidity patients, overweight cut delirium odds versus normal weight
Postoperative delirium occurred in 625 of 4320 patients (14.5%).
Compared with normal weight, adjusted odds ratios (aORs) were 0.81 (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.68-0.96) for overweight, 0.76 (0.60-0.97) for class 1 obesity, and 1.02 (0.78-1.33) for class ≥2 obesity.
Propensity score-matched estimates were consistent (overweight OR 0.74 [0.60-0.90]; class 1 obesity OR 0.72 [0.53-0.98]).
The relationship between BMI and postoperative delirium is not uniform; it is conditional on comorbidity burden.
Overweight and class 1 obesity are associated with reduced postoperative delirium risk only in older adults with low comorbidity burden.
BMI should therefore be interpreted together with comorbidity burden when assessing delirium risk in elderly surgical patients.