Copyright: ©Author(s) 2026. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license. No commercial re-use. See permissions. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc.
World J Clin Cases. Sep 16, 2026; 14(26): 125278
Published online Sep 16, 2026. doi: 10.12998/wjcc.125278
Published online Sep 16, 2026. doi: 10.12998/wjcc.125278
Butterfly effect of oral frailty and sensory blurring: A complex systems framework for hip fracture vulnerability
Takahiko Nagamine, Department of Psychiatric Internal Medicine, Sunlight Brain Research Center, Hofu 747-0066, Japan
Takahiko Nagamine, Graduate School of Medical and Dental Sciences, Institute of Science Tokyo, Bunkyou 113-8510, Japan
Author contributions: All aspects of this work were carried out by the sole author.
AI contribution statement: AI tools were used solely for language proofreading and assisting with figure preparation. The content and intellectual substance were entirely created by the author(s).
Conflict-of-interest statement: All authors declare that they have no conflict of interest to disclose.
Corresponding author: Takahiko Nagamine, MD, PhD, Professor Emeritus, Department of Psychiatric Internal Medicine, Sunlight Brain Research Center, 4-13-18 Jiyugaoka, Hofu 747-0066, Japan. tnagamine@outlook.com
Received: July 9, 2026
Revised: August 5, 2026
Accepted: September 4, 2026
Published online: September 16, 2026
Processing time: 78 Days and 7.5 Hours
Revised: August 5, 2026
Accepted: September 4, 2026
Published online: September 16, 2026
Processing time: 78 Days and 7.5 Hours
Core Tip
Core Tip: We should stop thinking about hip fracture risk through a simple, straight line of just bone density and falls. Looking at the human body as a complex system, things like oral frailty and age-related nerve changes (descending pain inhibitory system dysfunction) are like tiny initial disturbances in a big, interconnected web. Through sensory blurring, bad nutrition, and muscle loss, these small issues feed into each other and grow larger over time. This is exactly like the “butterfly effect”, where a tiny change eventually causes a major storm — or in this case, a bad hip fracture. This new model shows why we need to focus on whole-body resilience instead of just single medical targets.