Genome-wide association identifies a novel locus for delirium risk

We aimed to identify common genetic variations associated with delirium through genome-wide association testing in a hospital biobank. We applied a published electronic health record-based definition of delirium to identify cases of delirium, and control individuals with no history of delirium, from a biobank spanning 2 Boston academic medical centers. Among 6035 individuals of northern European ancestry, including 421 with a history of delirium, we used logistic regression to examine genome-wide association. We identified one locus spanning multiple genes, including 3 interleukin-related genes, associated with p = 1.41e-8, and 5 other independent loci with p < 5e-7. Our results do not support previously reported candidate gene associations in delirium. Identifying common-variant associations with delirium may provide insight into the mechanisms responsible for this complex and multifactorial outcome. Using standardized claims-based phenotypes in biobanks should allow the larger scale investigations required to confirm novel loci such as the one we identify.