Investigating how medications can cause delirium in older adults
Official title: Comprehensive Assessment of Delirium Risk due to Medications
Funded at University of Alabama at Birmingham · NIH-10989899 · Data updated 2026-11-12
This study is looking at how certain medications might lead to delirium in older adults who are in the hospital, with the goal of finding ways to keep patients safer by identifying which drugs could be causing this serious condition.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R21 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | University of Alabama at Birmingham NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Birmingham, United States) |
| Project start | December 1, 2023 |
| Project end | November 30, 2025 |
| Funding year | 2025 |
| Award (this year) | $177,865 |
| NIH project number | 5R21AG084218-02 |
| Project ID | NIH-10989899 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Ideal candidates for this research are hospitalized individuals aged 65 and older who are receiving medications.
✕Less likely to help
Patients under the age of 65 or those not taking medications during hospitalization may not benefit from this research.
What this research studies
This research focuses on understanding the role of medications in causing delirium, a serious condition affecting many hospitalized older adults. By analyzing a large dataset from the University of Alabama at Birmingham, which includes over 81,000 patients, the study aims to identify specific medications that may increase the risk of delirium. Using advanced data mining techniques, researchers will explore patterns and associations in medication use and delirium occurrence. This approach seeks to improve patient safety by identifying preventable causes of delirium related to medication.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this research could lead to better medication management and reduced incidence of delirium in older adults, enhancing their overall care and recovery.
How similar studies have gone: While there has been limited research specifically targeting medications as a cause of delirium, the innovative use of large datasets and data mining techniques in this study represents a novel approach.
Where this research is happening
-
University of Alabama at Birmingham
Birmingham, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Kennedy, Richard E — University of Alabama at Birmingham
- Study coordinator: Kennedy, Richard E
Related research
Other NIH-funded projects on the same topics.
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READI-SET-GO: Improving Delirium Screening for Hospitalized Older Adults
A hospital-based program tests how well routine nurse delirium screening using UB-CAM works when integrated into the electronic health record to improve outcomes for older patients.
-
Continuous wearable monitor with AI to prevent agitation and delirium in hospitalized older adults
A wearable sensor and AI system will continuously track agitation in older hospital patients to help prevent delirium and protect brain health.
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Low brain changes from anesthesia may signal early Alzheimer's risk
A study at Stanford will look at whether brain responses to anesthesia during surgery reveal early brain changes linked to Alzheimer’s disease and delirium risk in people aged 65 and up.
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Why dementia and sudden confusion (delirium) often happen together
This project looks at brain electrical signals and chemical changes to find why people with dementia sometimes develop sudden confusion called delirium.
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AKI-related delirium after heart surgery
This grant funds research to understand why some people develop delirium after heart surgery when they also have acute kidney injury.
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Lipocalin-2 and delirium after surgery in Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias
A study at Duke University looks at how an inflammatory protein called lipocalin-2 may trigger delirium after surgery, especially in people at risk for Alzheimer’s and related dementias.
About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page.