PREDICTION OF LONG-TERM COGNITIVE DECLINE FOLLOWING POSTOPERATIVE DELIRIUM IN OLDER ADULTS Elizabeth E. Devore 1 , Tamara G. Fong 2,3 , Edward R. Marcantonio 2,4 , Eva M. Schmitt 2 , Thomas G. Travison 2,4 , Richard N. Jones 2,5 *, Sharon K. Inouye 2,4 * *Co-senior authors 1 Channing Division of Network Medicine, Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts 2 Aging Brain Center, Institute of Aging Research, Hebrew SeniorLife, Boston, Massachusetts 3 Department of Neurology, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts 4 Department of Medicine, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts 5 Departments of Psychiatry and Human Behavior and Neurology, Brown University Warren Alpert Medical School, Providence, Rhode Island Corresponding author : Elizabeth E. Devore, 181 Longwood Avenue, Room 448, Boston, Massachusetts 02115; phone: 617-525-2042; fax: 617-525-2008; email: [email protected]Word count : Abstract (248), Text (4,630) This is the author’s manuscript which was subsequently submitted to and accepted for publication. J Gerontol A Biol Sci Med Sci. 2017; 72(12):1697-1702.
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PREDICTION OF LONG-TERM COGNITIVE DECLINE FOLLOWING
POSTOPERATIVE DELIRIUM IN OLDER ADULTS
Elizabeth E. Devore1, Tamara G. Fong2,3, Edward R. Marcantonio2,4, Eva M. Schmitt2, Thomas
G. Travison2,4, Richard N. Jones2,5*, Sharon K. Inouye2,4*
*Co-senior authors
1 Channing Division of Network Medicine, Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Harvard
Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts
2 Aging Brain Center, Institute of Aging Research, Hebrew SeniorLife, Boston, Massachusetts
3 Department of Neurology, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and Harvard Medical School,
Boston, Massachusetts
4 Department of Medicine, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and Harvard Medical School,
Boston, Massachusetts
5 Departments of Psychiatry and Human Behavior and Neurology, Brown University Warren
Alpert Medical School, Providence, Rhode Island
Corresponding author: Elizabeth E. Devore, 181 Longwood Avenue, Room 448, Boston,
This is the author’s manuscript which was subsequently submitted to and accepted for publication. J Gerontol A Biol Sci Med Sci. 2017; 72(12):1697-1702.
ABSTRACT Background: Increasing evidence suggests that postoperative delirium may result in long-term
cognitive decline among older adults. Risk factors for such cognitive decline are unknown.
Methods: We studied 126 older participants without delirium or dementia upon entering the
Successful AGing After Elective Surgery (SAGES) study, who developed postoperative delirium
and completed repeated cognitive assessments (up to 36 months of follow up). Pre-surgical
factors were assessed preoperatively and divided into nine groupings of related factors
(“domains”). Delirium was evaluated at baseline and daily during hospitalization using the
Confusion Assessment Method diagnostic algorithm, and cognitive function was assessed using
a neuropsychological battery and the Informant Questionnaire for Cognitive Decline in the
Elderly (IQCODE) at baseline and six-month intervals over three years. Linear regression was
used to examine associations between potential risk factors and rate of long-term cognitive
decline over time. A domain-specific and then overall selection method based on adjusted R2
values was used to identify explanatory factors for the outcome.
Results: The General Cognitive Performance (GCP) score (combining all neuropsychological
test scores), IQCODE score, and living alone were significantly associated with long-term
cognitive decline. GCP score explained the most variation in rate of cognitive decline (13%), and
six additional factors—IQCODE score, cognitive independent activities of daily living
impairment, living alone, cerebrovascular disease, Charlson comorbidity index score, and
exhaustion level—in combination explained 32% of variation in this outcome.
Conclusions: Global cognitive performance was most strongly associated with long-term
cognitive decline following delirium. Pre-surgical factors may substantially predict this outcome.
Keywords: Risk factors, cognition, elective surgery
INTRODUCTION
Delirium, an acute confusional state, is a common condition affecting up to 50% of older
adults in the hospital, with serious potential consequences including cognitive and functional
impairment, institutionalization, and mortality(1). Previous studies have indicated that
individuals with delirium following surgery often experience cognitive impairment, although few
studies have assessed cognitive function beyond six to twelve months postoperatively(2); still,
emerging evidence suggests that some individuals never return to their previous cognitive
level(2), and instead exhibit accelerated cognitive decline over the longer term(3). In the SAGES
study, we previously reported that individuals had linear trajectories of cognitive decline over
postoperative months two to 36, and these trajectories were significantly steeper among
participants who developed delirium compared to those who did not(3).
The etiology of delirium associated with long-term cognitive sequelae is unclear.
Multiple risk factors have been identified for delirium(4), and validated prediction models have
been developed to target high-risk individuals for intervention(5-8). Moreover, intervention
programs such as the Hospital Elder Life Program and proactive geriatric consultation have
successfully targeted modifiable risk factors (e.g., sleep and mobilization), with 30-40%
reductions in delirium among older hospitalized patients(9, 10). In the absence of delirium, there
are several established risk factors for cognitive decline in older adults (e.g., age and education),
although most of these factors are not modifiable(11). However, risk factors specific for delirium
associated with cognitive decline have not yet been identified. Exploring such factors is a
necessary first step toward understanding the etiology of delirium associated with long-term
cognitive decline, and identifying potential therapeutic targets for intervention. This paper
specifically examines whether pre-surgical factors predict the rate of long-term cognitive decline
among older persons without dementia who developed postoperative delirium. Identifying such
factors could be useful in selecting high-risk individuals for targeted prevention or randomized
trials aimed at stalling cognitive decline following delirium.
METHODS
Study sample
The SAGES study is an ongoing prospective cohort study of older adults undergoing
elective major non-cardiac surgery. The study design and methods have been described
previously(12). Briefly, eligible participants were age 70 years and older, English speaking,
scheduled to undergo elective surgery at one of two Harvard-affiliated academic medical centers
and with an anticipated length of stay of at least three days. Eligible surgical procedures were:
total hip or knee replacement, lumbar, cervical, or sacral laminectomy, lower extremity arterial
bypass surgery, open abdominal aortic aneurysm repair, and colectomy. Exclusion criteria
included evidence of dementia, delirium, hospitalization within three months, terminal condition,
legal blindness, severe deafness, history of schizophrenia or psychosis, and history of alcohol
abuse. A total of 566 patients were enrolled between June 18, 2010 and August 8, 2013, and six
individuals with possible dementia were excluded after a detailed adjudication process described
previously(12), leaving 560 cohort participants. Written informed consent was obtained from all
participants according to procedures approved by the institutional review boards of Beth Israel
Deaconess Medical Center and Brigham and Women’s Hospital, the two study hospitals, and
Hebrew SeniorLife, the study coordinating center, all located in Boston, Massachusetts.
In this paper, we focused on 134 participants who developed postoperative delirium and
had cognitive data during follow up.
Assessment of pre-surgical factors
An initial home interview was conducted to gather detailed information on health and
functioning an average of two weeks prior to hospitalization for scheduled surgery. Basic
demographic, medical, and lifestyle information was obtained, and well-validated assessments of
cognitive, physical, and mental function were administered (see Supplement A for details). The
five components of the Fried frailty index (unintentional weight loss, exhaustion, low physical
activity, low grip strength, and slow timed walk) were assessed(13), and a blood sample was
collected from which apolipoprotein (APOE) 4 genotype and C-reactive protein (CRP) levels
were analyzed. A trained physician conducted medical record reviews after participants were
discharged from the hospital, which provided additional information on pre-surgical factors.
Assessment of delirium
Beginning with the first postoperative day, delirium symptoms were assessed daily
during hospitalization using brief cognitive tests(12, 14), the Delirium Symptom Interview(15),
and acute changes in mental status reported by family and nurses. Delirium diagnosis was based
on the Confusion Assessment Method (CAM) diagnostic algorithm(16), a widely used and well-
validated assessment tool with very high sensitivity, specificity, and inter-rater reliability(17,
18). Delirium symptoms were also obtained from medical records using a validated delirium
assessment(19, 20) with adjudication of cases by an expert delirium panel. For this study, a
combined approach based on either CAM or medical record assessment of delirium (and used in
prior studies) was utilized to identify incident delirium(20).
Assessment of cognitive function
Cognitive function was assessed at the home interview, and repeated at one, two, and six
months after hospital discharge, and at six-month intervals thereafter up to 36 months following
discharge. The neuropsychological battery evaluated cognitive domains putatively most affected
by delirium(12, 21) (see Supplement B for details). We combined all test scores into a weighted
composite summary measure, the General Cognitive Performance (GCP) score, using previously
published methods(22); this score was calibrated to a nationally representative sample of older
adults(23), where the mean for persons aged ≥70 years is expected to be 50, with a standard
deviation of 10(21). The GCP score is sensitive to change with minimal floor and ceiling
effects(21, 22), and has been applied in previous studies(3, 24-26). For longitudinal GCP values,
we applied a previously described method of correction to these scores to account for learning
effects over time(27-29).
As previously reported in this cohort, the pattern of GCP scores over time indicated
cognitive decline at postoperative month one, recovery of cognitive function above baseline at
month two, and gradual cognitive decline beginning at month two and dropping below baseline
over months twelve to 36; this pattern was more pronounced among participants who developed
postoperative delirium compared to those who did not(3). Loss to follow up was minimal due to
death (7%) and withdrawal from the study (5%), and non-differential with respect to delirium
status; therefore, 89% of eligible participants had complete data on the GCP score over time(3).
Statistical analysis
We divided pre-surgical factors into nine related groupings or domains: demographics
(age, sex, race, education, and living arrangement), lifestyle factors (smoking status, alcohol
intake, and socioeconomic status), cognitive function (baseline GCP score and IQCODE score),
physical function (ADL and IADL impairments), mental health/quality of life (GDS scale and
SF-12 composite and subscale scores), sensory function (hearing and vision impairment), frailty
(Fried frailty index components), medical factors (surgery type, CCI score, cardiovascular
disease, peripheral vascular disease, diabetes, and cerebrovascular disease), and biomarkers
(APOE 4 genotype and CRP level). Our outcome of interest was the rate of cognitive decline
over three years of follow up, which was estimated previously for each participant based on
mixed effects regression models with random effects for baseline and change over time; this
slope was estimated beginning at postoperative month two because, on average, participants
started a linear trajectory of gradual cognitive decline at that time(3).
We used simple linear regression to estimate mean differences in rates of cognitive
decline (and 95% confidence intervals [CIs]) for each unit increase in continuous predictors and
for each level of a categorical predictor compared to a chosen reference level. We divided mean
differences associated with continuous predictors by twice the standard deviation of the predictor
to make the scaling similar to that of binary predictors(30). Next, for each domain of pre-surgical
factors, we used an adjusted R2-based selection method to determine an order of variable
selection into successive linear regression models (with rate of cognitive decline as the outcome).
We selected variables into the model by maximizing the adjusted R2 value (i.e., total proportion
of variation explained in the outcome corrected for the number of variables in the model), and
we obtained total R2 values (i.e., total proportion of outcome variation explained by all variables
in the model) for each successive model as well. For each domain, we retained variables if they
increased the adjusted R2 value of the model, or if they entered the model first when no factors
met this threshold, and these variables were considered for our final model. Finally, we evaluated
all variables retained from domain-specific models (with age and sex forced into the model)
using the selection procedure described above and obtained adjusted and total R2 values. The
subset of variables that increased the adjusted R2 value of this model constituted our final model.
We evaluated the normality of studentized residuals in our final linear regression model using the
Shapiro-Wilk test)(31), and identified potential outliers based on graphical methods and the
absolute values of these residuals (threshold of two)(ref); we also detected influential
observations based on the Cook’s Distance (threshold of four divided by the square root of the
sample size)(ref). The entire selection process was repeated if outliers or influential points were
identified and these participants were excluded.
For each model, participants with complete information on contributing variables were
included; as previously reported, there is little missing data in this sample(32). All statistical
analyses were conducted in SAS version 9.3.
RESULTS
Of the 134 participants with postoperative delirium, we initially identified five
individuals who were potential outliers and three individuals with influential data in our final
model, and subsequently excluded these participants from further analyses. In Table 1, selected
pre-surgical characteristics are described among 552 participants in the overall SAGES cohort
and separately for 126 participants who developed postoperative delirium. Overall, the cohort
had an average age of 76.8 years at baseline; it was 60% female and 8% non-white. Participants
with postoperative delirium were slightly older, had lower GCP scores, and more often had
multiple comorbidities (as indicated by the Charlson comorbidity index score) compared to the
overall cohort. Other differences were relatively small comparing participants with delirium to
the whole cohort.
In univariate models, worse cognitive function prior to surgery (Domain 3) was
significantly associated with faster cognitive decline over follow up; specifically, participants
with lower GCP scores and higher IQCODE scores at baseline had greater slopes of cognitive
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Table 1. Selected Baseline Characteristics of Participants, Including Those With Post-Operative Delirium, in the Successful AGing After Elective Surgery (SAGES) Study a
All Participants
(n=552) Participants with
Delirium (n=126)
Continuous variables Mean ± Standard deviation Age, in years 76.8 ± 5.2 77.2 ± 4.8 Education, in years 14.8 ± 3.0 14.7 ± 3.0 Leisure-time activity level, in Metabolic Equivalent Times expended per week
742 ± 1230 739 ± 1495
Global Cognitive Performance score, in standard units 56.9 ± 7.4 54.7 ± 6.4 Informant Questionnaire for Cognitive Decline in the Elderly score
3.1 ± 0.2 3.2 ± 0.3
Geriatric Depression Scale score, in points 2.7 ± 2.6 3.0 ± 2.8 Categorical variables Percentages Female sex 60 60 Non-white race 8 10 Living alone 30 27 Current smoking 5 5 ≥1 weekly alcohol intake 38 30 Any activities of daily living impairment 8 9 Any independent activities of daily living impairment 31 35 Any cognitive independent activities of daily living impairment 6 10 Hearing impairment 31 35 Surgery type Orthopedic 79 78 Vascular 7 9 Gastrointestinal 14 13 Charlson comorbidity index score, in points 0 44 41 1 26 17 ≥2 30 42 Cardiovascular disease 13 17 Diabetes 22 25 Cerebrovascular disease 6 8 a Data are derived from 552 participants, except there is missing information on alcohol intake (4 missing), Informant Questionnaire for Cognitive Decline in the Elderly score (12 missing), and Geriatric Depression Scale score (2 missing).
Table 2. Overall Contribution of Remaining Potential Risk Factors to Explained Variation in Cognitive Decline Among Participants With Post-Operative Delirium in the Successful AGing After Elective Surgery (SAGES) Study a,b
Total R2
value
Change in total R2 value
Adjusted R2 value, adding
variables successively c
Variables forced into the model 1. Age -- -- -- 2. Sex 0.0301 -- 0.0088 Variables retained from Supplemental Table 2 3. Global Cognitive Performance score 0.1601 0.1300 0.1322 4. Living alone 0.2237 0.0636 0.1888 5. Frailty component 2: exhaustion 0.2554 0.0317 0.2131 6. Cerebrovascular disease 0.2680 0.0126 0.2175 7. Informant Questionnaire for Cognitive Decline in the Elderly
score 0.2881 0.0201 0.2301
8. Charlson comorbidity index score 0.3087 0.0206 0.2346 9. Any cognitive independent activities of daily living impairment 0.3184 0.0097 0.2362 10. Diabetes 0.3256 0.0072 0.2352 11. C-reactive protein level 0.3325 0.0069 0.2336 12. Cardiovascular disease 0.3391 0.0066 0.2317 13. Frailty component 5: slow timed walk 0.3470 0.0079 0.2313 14. Geriatric Depression Scale score 0.3504 0.0034 0.2255 15. Hearing impairment 0.3530 0.0026 0.2185 16. Smoking status 0.3533 0.0003 0.1981 a Data are derived from 126 participants, except there is missing information on Informant Questionnaire for Cognitive Decline in the Elderly score (2 missing), frailty component 5 (27 missing), and C-reactive protein level (3 missing). b Variables are numbered according to the order in which they were selected into the model. c Adjusted R2 values represent the proportion of variation explained as variables are added successively to the final model, with a correction for the number of variables entered in the model. An increase in adjusted R2 with addition of a variable to the model (shown in bold type) indicates the variable improved the explanatory power of the model, and a decrease in adjusted R2 indicates the variable does not improve the explanatory power of the model.