In a new series of scientific studies, experts explain that men appear to be more at risk of forgetting things when they grow old than women area. The correlation could explain the higher incidence of Alzheimer's disease among men.

The most common precursor to the dreaded condition is an affliction known as mild cognitive impairment, which manifests itself by making people experience more memory and thinking problems than old age alone could.

Physicians who take care of seniors are always on the lookout for such signs, given that they are usually clear indicators of the development of Alzheimer's.

The condition is very dangerous, and it affects millions of old people around the world. It mainly manifests itself through cognitive decline, impaired memory and so on.

The new investigation revealed that men are approximately 1.5 times more likely to develop mild cognitive impairment than women, which should naturally mean that they are at increased risk of exhibiting Alzheimer's symptoms as well.

This correlation has yet to be made in larger, tightly-controlled studies, experts say. The conclusions of the new study appear in the September 7 issue of the esteemed scientific journal Neurology.

“This is the first study conducted among community-dwelling persons to find a higher prevalence of MCI in men,” says expert Ronald Petersen,

“If these results are confirmed in other studies, it may suggest that factors related to gender play a role in the disease,” adds the scientist, who was a researcher on the new study.

“For example, men may experience cognitive decline earlier in life but more gradually, whereas women may transition from normal memory directly to dementia at a later age but more quickly,” he argues.

Petersen is the director of the Disease Research Center at the Mayo Clinic, in Rochester, Minnesota. The team here conducted the new study on more than 2,050 people.

All test participants were aged between 70 and 89, and they received questionnaires seeking to gage their medical history and potential memory problems.

From those in the test group, about 10 percent had dementia, whereas 14 percent had MCI. About 19 percent of men were found displaying MCI symptoms, while only 14 percent of women did so.

Higher MCI incidences were discovered in people who had never had a spouse, as well as in those who had reduced levels of education, LiveScience reports.