Rising incidences of Warthin’s tumors may be linked to obesity: a single-institutional experience

Purpose Recently, there has been an increase in the number of reported Warthin’s tumors, but few risk factors have been described for this benign tumor. Yet, smoking is the only evidently identified risk factor. Obesity and the metabolic syndrome are causally linked to or a risk factor for a variety of diseases. Therefore, we analyzed whether metabolic syndrome, including obesity, might influence the incidence of Warthin’s tumors. Methods In this retrospective study, we evaluated 197 patients with Warthin’s tumor. We assessed the tumor size, the body mass index (BMI), comorbidities related to the metabolic syndrome, and cigarette and alcohol consumption. Additionally, we evaluated several blood parameters and their influence. Results Warthin’s tumor patients had a significantly higher BMI in comparison to patients with other benign parotid gland tumors (29.1 versus 26.2, p