LAUSR

surgery (50.1%, OR 6.87) and neurosurgery (40.5%, OR 4.38) (Figure S3). All demographic data and OR for all services can be found in Table S1 and S2, and Figure S4. In summary, the incidence of delirium in adults under 65 years of age was considerable in our cohort. As expected, the incidence of delirium in the elderly population > 65 years is generally higher than in our cohort. However, delirium rates in our cohort in departments of neurology, cardiac surgery, and palliative care resembled those reported in the elderly. Regarding critical care units, our findings confirm previous notions of high incidence in younger adults. Taken together, those findings attenuate the low-predisposition–severe-precipitator paradigm for delirium triggers. 10 Further, this study delineates the trajectories of the delirious patients, irrespective of age: being admitted as emergencies, hospitalized longer, and at discharge either institutionalized or deceased. Arguably, higher predisposition and vulnerability in the elderly legitimates the focus on the older population. Patients 65 years and older from this cohort had higher odds of developing delirium (OR 2.77, P < 0.001) and across all services, 31.6% developed delirium during hospitalization. Nevertheless, inclusion of adults under 65 years of age in clinical trials should be considered, because their treatment responses and outcomes might be different from those in the elderly. In conclusion, despite lower predisposition to delirium and lower incidence, our findings encourage clinical research in patients under 65 years of age. Departments with high delirium incidence rates may already promote early detection in order to improve patient care and lower costs.