Do You Give Money Away Easily? New Study Links Generosity To Alzheimer's Disease

Do you consider yourself a generous person? While generosity is usually considered a noble trait in humans, it appears that it may have its downside as well, especially in old age.

Researchers from the Keck School of Medicine at USC have found a link between financial generosity and early stages of Alzheimer's disease, a press release stated. The goal of this study published in the Journal of Alzheimer's Disease was to identify people must vulnerable to financial exploitation.

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How was the link between generosity and Alzheimer's detected?

To conduct this study, scientists conducted a lab exercise with 67 senior citizens without dementia or cognitive impairment. They were simply asked to choose between giving money to an unidentified recipient and keeping it for themselves. They also participated in several cognitive tests that can point to Alzheimer's disease.

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Guess what? Turns out those who gave more to strangers were also more likely to develop Alzheimer's. "Trouble handling money is thought to be one of the early signs of Alzheimer¡¯s disease, and this finding supports that notion," said Duke Han, director of neuropsychology in the Department of Family Medicine and a professor of family medicine, neurology, psychology and gerontology at the Keck School of Medicine.

Also read: Discovery Of New Gene Explains Why Women Develop Alzheimer's More Than Men

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Previous studies who assessed the same looked at scenarios wherein actual money wasn't involved. "To our knowledge, this is the first study to explore the relationship using a behavioral economics paradigm, meaning a scenario where participants had to make decisions about giving or keeping actual money," said Gali H. Weissberger from the Interdisciplinary Department of Social Sciences at Bar-Ilan University in Israel.

Of all the 67 adults, the average was 69 and people with cognitive impairment were excluded from the study. All participants were given $10 and asked to split it among themselves and an anonymous individual.

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Also read: Nasal Vaccine To Cure Alzheimer's To Enter Human Trials For First Time

At the same time, they were given tests like story and word recall tasks that are used to diagnose Alzheimer's disease. Scientists found that participants who gave away more money scored lower on these tests, suggesting they may be more likely to develop Alzheimer's.

Even then, more research is needed to assess the link between financial altruism and cognitive health. What do you think about this study? Let us know in the comments below. For more in the world of technology and science, keep reading Indiatimes.com.

References

Collins, C. (2022, July 20). Generosity Could Be an Early Sign of Alzheimer¡¯s. SciTechDaily.