Sex Differences in Delirium after Coronary Artery Bypass Graft Surgery and Perioperative Neuropsychiatric Conditions: A Secondary Analysis of a Cohort Study.

BACKGROUND: Biological sex influences the risk of depression and cognitive impairment, but its role in relation to postoperative delirium is unclear. This analysis investigates sex differences in delirium risk after coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery and sex-related differences in relation to affective and cognitive symptoms.

METHODS: This is a secondary analysis of the Neuropsychiatric Outcomes After Heart Surgery (NOAHS) study, a single-site, observational study of a CABG surgery cohort (n = 149). Preoperative characteristics are stratified by sex, and baseline variables that differ by sex are evaluated to understand whether sex modifies their relationships with delirium. We also evaluate sex differences in one-month depression and cognition.

RESULTS: Female sex is associated with several delirium risk factors, including higher risk of preoperative depression and middle cerebral artery (MCA) stenosis. MCA stenosis was statistically associated with delirium only among women (OR 15.6, 95% CI 1.5, 164.4); mild cognitive impairment (MCI) was associated with delirium only in men (OR 4.6, 95% CI 1.2, 17.9). Other sex-based differences failed to reach statistical significance. Depression remained commoner among women 1 month post-CABG.

CONCLUSIONS: Women in this CABG cohort were more likely to have depression at baseline and 1 month postoperatively, as well as MCA stenosis and postoperative delirium. Sex might modify the relationship between post-CABG delirium and its risk factors including MCA stenosis and MCI. Cerebrovascular disease deserves study as a potential explanation linking female sex and a range of poor outcomes among women with coronary heart disease.