Study examines how Ozempic and Wegovy may influence violent behaviour

Popular medicines that inhibit GLP-1, including Ozempic and Wegovy, are best known for helping people to lose weight and manage diabetes. New research from Rutgers University indicates that these medicines may also be associated with changes in behaviours linked to violence.

Published in the journal Criminology, the study examined whether GLP-1 receptor agonists affect violent criminal behaviour among adults. Researchers assessed whether the medicines could modify the effects of two factors closely linked with violence: impulsivity and alcohol consumption.

GLP-1 medicines and violent behaviour

To investigate this question, the researchers examined data from a 2025 survey of 7,521 adults in the United States. Their main analysis focused on 821 participants who had used a GLP-1 medicine at some point.

The team compared current users with former users and assessed how medicine use influenced the relationship between violent behaviour, impulsivity and alcohol consumption. Violent behaviour was measured using a validated self-report tool covering acts such as fighting, assault and robbery.

“The study’s most important finding was that the well-established link between impulsivity and violent behaviour was substantially weaker among current GLP-1 users than among former users,” said Daniel Semenza, the study’s lead author, research director at the New Jersey Gun Violence Research Center at the Rutgers School of Public Health, and an associate professor at the same institution.

“With the growing use of GLP-1 medicines, it is important to understand all their potential behavioural effects, including those relevant to public safety,” Semenza said.

Impulsivity and alcohol effects were weaker

Across the full sample, greater impulsivity and heavier alcohol consumption were strongly associated with violent behaviour. However, these associations were markedly less pronounced among people taking GLP-1 medicines.

According to the researchers, the association between impulsivity and violent behaviour was approximately 62% weaker in current users than in former users. The connection between alcohol consumption and violent behaviour was around 52% weaker among current users, although these findings were not as consistent in additional sensitivity analyses.

“Our findings are consistent with the idea that these medicines work like cognitive behavioural therapy, weakening the route from impulse to action rather than removing impulsivity itself,” said Christopher Thomas, an assistant professor at Rutgers University–Camden and co-author of the study.