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Risk factors

By Mayo Clinic staff

Several factors may increase your risk of developing a lipoma, including:

  • Being between 40 and 60 years old. Although lipomas can occur at any age, they're most common in this age group. Lipomas are rare in children.
  • Having certain other disorders. People with other disorders, including adiposis dolorosa, Madelung disease, Cowden syndrome and Gardner's syndrome, have an increased risk of multiple lipomas.
References
  1. Collison DW. Lipomas. The Merck Manuals: The Merck Manual for Healthcare Professionals. http://www.merck.com/mmpe/print/sec10/ch127/ch127f.html. Accessed Oct. 29, 2011.
  2. Kuwano Y, et al. Efficacy of diagnostic ultrasonography of lipomas, epidermal cysts and ganglions. Archives of Dermatology. 2009;145:761.
  3. Wolff K, et al. Benign neoplasms and hyperplasias. In: Wolff K, et al. Fitzpatrick's Color Atlas & Synopsis of Clinical Dermatology in General Medicine. 6th ed. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill; 2011. http://www.accessmedicine.com/content.aspx?aID=5202138. Accessed October 29, 2011.
  4. Brenn T. Neoplasms of subcutaneous fat. In: Wolff K, et al. Fitzpatrick's Dermatology in General Medicine. 7th ed. New York, N.Y.: McGraw-Hill Companies; 2008. http://www.accessmedicine.com/resourceTOC.aspx?resourceID=505. Accessed Oct. 29, 2011.
  5. Pandya KA, et al. Benign skin lesions: Lipomas, epidermal inclusion cysts, muscle and nerve biopsies. Surgical Clinics of North America. 2009;89:677.
DS00634 Feb. 21, 2012

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