Could drugs like Ozempic make people less violent and even reduce crime?
Taking a shot at crime?GLP-1 medications like Ozempic and Mounjaro could be helping people make better choices — and not just with their food.A new study published today in the journal Criminology suggests these medications can actually make people less likely to act violently.Though GLP-1 agonists are prescribed to help lower blood sugar and shed weight, they’ve also been shown to bring positive changes to the brain.
In addition to helping blunt ADHD symptoms and lowering the risk of dementia and depression, research has shown they can make a major difference with addiction.If GLP-1s are dulling addictive behaviors, could they also have an effect on aggression and violent crime— which operate on similar pathways, like the neural reward system and stress regulation?According to new research, probably.Normally, the more impulsive a person is (i.e.
acting without thinking, or struggling to wait for things they want) and the more alcohol they drink, the higher the likelihood they might act violently.For those on GLP-1s, this correlation was “substantially weaker,” Daniel C.
Semenza, corresponding author of the new study, told The Post.That means that even when a person on GLP-1s drinks or acts impulsively, “the situation is less likely to escalate” to violence, like engaging in a physical fight, threatening someone with a weapon, or robbery.We know that GLP-1s affect reward processing, craving, impulse control and stress regulation.“Those same processes are relevant to some forms of violence, particularly violence that occurs in emotionally charged situations or under conditions of low self-control,” Semenza said.Dopamine helps explain what’s happening in the brain.When we do things that feel good, from shopping to sex, drugs and gambling, it causes an increase in dopamine levels, encouraging us to seek out that same feeling by repeating the behavior.
Aggression has been shown to spike dopamine.With GLP-1s, people often talk about “food noise,...