Social and environmental contributants to delirium in the elderly.

Even if the mechanisms and etiology of delirium still require further clarification, this article works on the assumption that delirium is caused by stress factors acting on the brain to such an extent that the brain can no longer cope. Therefore, social and environmental factors involving high levels of stress will cause delirium in the elderly. The influence of these factors is obviously very complex with several potential interacting mechanisms between different factors. Since studies on this subject are limited to certain aspects of the complex topic discussed, only narrowly focussed systematic knowledge on this topic is available. However, it can be concluded that hospital admission for example is an important risk factor for developing delirium.