Abstract Background Malnutrition and sarcopenia significantly increase the risk of intra-hospital delirium, particularly among older adults. Given the potential correlation between calf circumference (CC) and these conditions, CC emerges as a promising predisposing factor for delirium. This study aims to investigate the independent association between delirium and anthropometric parameters, focusing on evaluating CC’s predictive capacity for intra-hospital delirium risk. Additionally, it aims to compare CC’s predictive performance with the widely used Mini Nutritional Assessment (MNA), while also considering potential gender disparities. Methods This is a retrospective study which enrolled patients aged ≥ 65 years from September 2021 to March 2022 at the Padova Hospital (Italy). Physical characteristics, intra-hospital delirium incidence, and body composition were assessed. Sarcopenia was diagnosed using the 2019 European Consensus criteria. Results Among 207 subjects, delirium affected 19% of patients. CC showed a significant association with intra-hospital delirium among the analyzed anthropometric parameters. ROC curves indicated that CC’s predictive capacity for delirium onset was comparable to MNA ( p = 0.98), particularly in women. In a multivariable logistic regression model, female gender and higher cognitive and CC scores emerged as protective factors against delirium onset, with each unit increase in CC associated with a 24% reduction in the odds of delirium. Conversely, sarcopenia did not significantly influence delirium onset. Conclusions CC shows promise as a predisposing factor for intra-hospital delirium, similar to MNA, albeit with significant gender differences. CC could serve as a valuable tool for assessing delirium risk among female patients. Further validation of these findings is necessary through larger-scale studies.

Exploring the role of calf circumference as a predisposing factor for intra-hospital delirium: investigating potential gender differences: revealing potential gender variances