Rutgers University study links GLP-1 medicines Ozempic and Wegovy to changes in violent behaviour

Popular GLP-1 medicines such as Ozempic and Wegovy are best known for supporting weight loss and helping people manage diabetes. New research from Rutgers University indicates these drugs may also be connected to shifts in behaviours linked with violence.

Published in the journal Criminology, the study examined whether GLP-1 receptor agonists affect violent criminal behaviour among adults. The researchers focused on whether the medicines might change the influence of two factors strongly associated with violence: impulsivity and alcohol consumption.

GLP-1 medicines and violent behaviour

Dataset and participants

To investigate, the team analysed results from a 2025 survey of 7,521 adults in the United States. Their main analysis then focused on 821 people who reported having used a GLP-1 medicine at some point.

Comparing current and former users

The researchers compared people currently using GLP-1 medicines with former users, assessing whether medication use altered the relationship between violent behaviour, impulsivity, and alcohol consumption.

How violent behaviour was measured

Violent behaviour was measured using a validated self-report tool covering actions such as fighting, assault, and robbery.

“The most important finding in the study was that the well-established link between impulsivity and violent behaviour was substantially weaker among current GLP-1 users compared with former users,” said Daniel Semenza, the study’s lead author, research director of 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 spread of GLP-1 medications, it is important to understand all of their potential behavioural effects, including those relevant to public safety,” Semenza said.

The effects of impulsivity and alcohol were weaker

Strength of the associations

Across the full sample, higher impulsivity and greater alcohol consumption were strongly associated with violent behaviours. However, among people taking GLP-1 medicines, these relationships were notably less pronounced.

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

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