What is cognitive impairment?

Impairment in cognition describes an individual with altered perception and

cognition that interferes with daily living. The alteration can result in cognitive
and perceptual deficits, including difficulty concentrating, organizing thoughts,
and communicating effectively. Disturbances in thought processes can be
caused by various conditions, such as mental illness, substance
abuse, brain injury, or medication side effects.

The focus of nursing management is to reduce impairment in thinking and

promote reality orientation. Often, confusion in older adults is erroneously
attributed to aging. Confusion in an older adult can be caused by a single
factor or multiple factors such as depression, dementia, medication side
effects, or metabolic disorders. Depression causes impaired thinking in older
adults more frequently than dementia.

Causes
Disturbances in thought process can be caused by various factors including
psychiatric disorders, neurological conditions, substance abuse, medication
side effects, and systemic illnesses affecting the brain. Here are some factors
that may cause cognitive impairment:

Physical changes

 Aging
 Head injuries
 Hypoxia
 Infections
 Malnutrition
Biochemical change