The two delirium-free control groups without acute trauma were included to unravel the effects of acute trauma (hip fracture), dementia, and delirium.<h4>Results</h4>Here we show that delirium is associated with higher levels of MMP-2, MMP-3, MMP-10, TIMP-1, and TIMP-2; a trend suggests lower levels of TIMP-4 are also associated with delirium. Here, MMP3 is linked to dementia.