We investigate how the genetic risk of developing Alzheimer's Disease (AD) relates to saving behavior. Using nationally representative data from the 1996-2014 Health and Retirement Study (HRS), we find that genetic predisposition for AD correlates with, but is not causally related to how older individuals' hold wealth in different asset types. People with a higher AD polygenic risk score (PGS) hold roughly 20 per cent less wealth in IRAs and contribute about 24 percent less to IRAs between survey periods. We hypothesize that people with a high risk of AD choose different portfolios: (i) because they know their genetic risk of developing AD from parental history, (ii) because they have the lower cognitive capacity, and (iii) because they indirectly learn about their genetic predisposition for AD as they age. Our extended model results show that the first two hypotheses do not account for the observed correlation. Consistent with the third hypothesis, the interaction between age and the AD PGS accounts for the correlation between genetic traits and asset holdings. Our findings have far-reaching implications for researchers using genetic data: when indirect learning about own predispositions is possible, correlations between genes and choices must be interpreted with caution.

中文翻译：

---

了解阿尔茨海默氏病多基因风险，财富与财富持有构成之间的相关性。

我们调查发展阿尔茨海默氏病（AD）的遗传风险如何与保存行为有关。使用1996-2014年健康与退休研究（HRS）中具有国家代表性的数据，我们发现AD的遗传易感性与老年人在不同资产类型中的财富持有方式相关，但没有因果关系。AD多基因风险评分（PGS）较高的人在调查期间持有的IRA财富减少了约20％，而对IRA的贡献减少了约24％。我们假设罹患AD的风险高的人选择不同的投资组合：（i）因为他们从父母的历史知道他们发展AD的遗传风险；（ii）因为他们的认知能力较低；（iii）因为他们间接了解随着年龄的增长，它们对AD的遗传易感性。我们扩展的模型结果表明，前两个假设不能解释观察到的相关性。与第三个假设一致，年龄与AD PGS之间的相互作用说明了遗传特征与资产持有量之间的相关性。我们的发现对使用遗传数据的研究人员具有深远的影响：当可能间接学习自身的易感性时，必须谨慎解释基因与选择之间的相关性。