When it comes to remembering things, men are more predisposed than women to become dotty and forgetful, which may be considered an early sign of dementia, new research, presented at the American Academy of Neurology 60th Anniversary Annual Meeting in Chicago, April 16, suggests.

“This is one of the first studies to determine the prevalence of mild cognitive impairment among men and women who have been randomly selected from a community to participate in the study,” Dr. Rosebud Roberts of the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota said, according to the Telegraph.

For the study, Dr. Roberts and his colleagues followed 2,050 people living in Olmsted County, Minnesota, who were between the ages of 70 and 89. They were interviewed, examined and given cognitive tests every 12 to 15 months.

Overall, 74 percent of the participants had normal mental function, about 16,7 percent had mild cognitive impairment and 10 percent had full-on dementia, the researchers found.

Moreover, men were 1.67 times more likely to have mild cognitive impairment, problems with memory and thinking skills than women were.

“These findings are in contrast to studies which have found more women than men, or an equal proportion, have dementia, and suggest there’s a delayed progression to dementia in men. Alternately, women may develop dementia at a faster rate than men,” Dr. Roberts said.

The study found that mild cognitive impairment was the same, regardless of a man’s education or marital status.

According to Sam Gandy, MD, PhD, chairman of the medical and scientific advisory council for the Alzheimer’s Association, both men and women can improve their lifestyles to reduce their risk of dementia. In order to support his theory, he cited a recent study in which having belly fat as an adult boosted the risk of dementia later.

“As for recommendations [to reduce risk], for now, diet and lifestyle remain the mainstays,” he told WebMD. In fact, the Alzheimer’s Association recommends staying active mentally, socially and physically as well as adopting a “brain-healthy” diet in order to avoid health problems later in life.

The study was supported by grants from the National Institutes of Health and the Robert H. and Clarice Smith and Abigail Van Buren Alzheimer’s Disease Research Program.