Spinal stenosis generally affects more men than women. A study in Geneva found that the ratio between men and women is 1.28. It went on to state that while the disease is strongly related to aging, men are affected earlier in life than women. This is likely due to heavy workload and a higher body mass index (BMI). Although spinal stenosis tends to affect men more than women, degenerative spondylolisthesis in association with spinal stenosis is more prevalent in women. Occupation, race, and smaller canal diameter also do not appear to have a correlation with the development of spinal stenosis.