Popular GLP-1 treatments such as Ozempic and Wegovy are best known for helping with weight loss and diabetes management. A new study from Rutgers University suggests that these drugs may also be associated with behavioral changes related to violence.
This study criminologyinvestigated whether GLP-1 receptor agonists influence violent criminal behavior in adults. The researchers focused on whether drugs could alter the effects of two factors strongly associated with violence: impulsivity and alcohol consumption.
GLP-1 Drugs and Violence
To explore this question, researchers analyzed data from a 2025 survey of 7,521 adults across the United States. Their main analysis focused on 821 people who had used GLP-1 drugs at some point.
The researchers looked at how drug use affects the relationship between violent behavior, impulsivity, and alcohol use by comparing current and former users. Violent behavior was assessed using a validated self-report scale that included acts such as fighting, assaulting, and robbery.
“The strongest finding of this study was that the established association between impulsivity and violent behavior was significantly weaker in current GLP-1 users compared to former users,” said Daniel Semenza, lead author of the study, research director of the New Jersey Gun Violence Research Center at Rutgers School of Public Health, and associate professor at Rutgers School of Public Health.
“As GLP-1 drugs become increasingly popular, it is important to understand all of their potential behavioral effects, including those related to public safety,” Semenza said.
The effects of impulsivity and alcohol were weak.
Across the sample, higher levels of impulsivity and greater alcohol consumption were both strongly associated with violent behavior. However, these associations were not significant among people currently taking GLP-1 drugs.
The relationship between impulsivity and violent behavior was about 62% weaker among current users than among former users, the researchers said. The association between alcohol use and violent behavior was approximately 52% weaker among current users, but the results were less consistent in additional sensitivity analyses.
“This is consistent with the effect that these medications act like cognitive-behavioral therapy, weakening the path from impulse to action rather than eliminating the impulsivity itself,” said Christopher Thomas, assistant professor at Rutgers University Camden and co-author of the study.
further research is needed
The researchers cautioned that the study cannot prove that GLP-1 drugs directly reduce violent behavior. Because this study is observational and cross-sectional, it can only identify associations, not causation.
The research team said future longitudinal and experimental studies are needed to determine whether GLP-1 drugs truly reduce violence risk and to better understand the biological and behavioral mechanisms that may be involved.
