A study of some 37,000 men and women has revealed that young or old, men are more absent-minded compared to women.

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Men are more forgetful than women, says a new study reported in the journal BMC Psychology

It has nothing to do with age, and everything to do with DNA.

A study carried out in Norway has found that men are more forgetful than women no matter what their age.

The findings published in the journal BMC Psychology was based on more than 37,000 men and women aged 30 years and above.

During the study, the participants were asked a series of questions about their memory.

The research team, led by Professor Jostein Holmen of the Norwegian University of Science and Technology, focused the questions on dates and events that happened over a few days and a few years.

In almost all the nine questions asked, men reported the most problems in recall.

The study also showed that the memory does fail with age.

And while almost half of those who took part reported memory problems, only 1.2 per cent were women, compared to the 1.6 per cent of men.

"It was surprising to see that men forget more than women" said Prof. Holmen.

"It was also surprising to see that men are just as forgetful whether they are 30 or 60 years old."

As to just why men forget, the experts can't quite conclude.

"We have speculated a lot" said Prof. Holmen adding, "(we) have not been able to find an explanation. This is still an unsolved mystery".

- CNA/sf