WASHINGTON (CBSDC) – A recent study finds that older male scientists are more likely to commit research fraud than younger female ones.

HealthDay News reports that the study conducted by the U.S. Office of Research Integrity found that 230 cases of scientific misconduct were committed between 1994 and 2012. Of those cases, 66 percent were men.

The study states that the highest disparity in research misconduct between men and women was among senior scientists.

“Not only are men committing more research misconduct, senior men are most likely to do so,” study co-author Joan Bennett said in a press release obtained by HealthDay News.

Bennett feels that the pressure on a research reward system is a reason why scientists commit fraud.

“Cheating on the system is just one of many factors that induce women to leave academia and seek professional careers in other environments,” Bennett told HealthDay News.

The study was published in January’s edition of the online journal mBio.