Effects of creatine supplementation on cognitive function of healthy individuals: A systematic review of randomized controlled trials.
Study Goal
The researchers aimed to investigate the effects of oral creatine supplementation on cognitive function in healthy individuals.
Results Summary
The study found that creatine may improve short-term memory and intelligence/reasoning, but results were conflicting for other cognitive domains. Vegetarians showed better memory task performance than meat-eaters, but no differences were observed in other cognitive areas.
Population
Healthy individuals (281 participants across six studies).
Effective Dosage
Not specified
Duration
Not specified
Interactions
None mentioned
| Intervention | Direction | Endpoint | Population | Dosage | Impact | Claim # |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
oral creatine administration | increase | short term memory | healthy individuals | - | may be improved | #1 |
oral creatine administration | increase | intelligence/reasoning | healthy individuals | - | may be improved | #2 |
creatine administration | no change | long-term memory, spatial memory, memory scanning, attention, executive function, response inhibition, word fluency, reaction time and mental fatigue | - | - | results were conflicting | #3 |
creatine | no change | performance on cognitive tasks | young individuals | - | stayed unchanged | #4 |
creatine | increase | memory tasks | vegetarians | - | responded better | #5 |
creatine | no change | other cognitive domains | vegetarians vs meat-eaters | - | no differences were observed | #6 |
BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Creatine is a supplement used by sportsmen to increase athletic performance by improving energy supply to muscle tissues. It is also an essential brain compound and some hypothesize that it aids cognition by improving energy supply and neuroprotection. The aim of this systematic review is to investigate the effects of oral creatine administration on cognitive function in healthy individuals. METHODS: A search of multiple electronic databases was performed for the identification of randomized clinical trials (RCTs) examining the cognitive effects of oral creatine supplementation in healthy individuals. RESULTS: Six studies (281 individuals) met our inclusion criteria. Generally, there was evidence that short term memory and intelligence/reasoning may be improved by creatine administration. Regarding other cognitive domains, such as long-term memory, spatial memory, memory scanning, attention, executive function, response inhibition, word fluency, reaction time and mental fatigue, the results were conflicting. Performance on cognitive tasks stayed unchanged in young individuals. Vegetarians responded better than meat-eaters in memory tasks but for other cognitive domains no differences were observed. CONCLUSIONS: Oral creatine administration may improve short-term memory and intelligence/reasoning of healthy individuals but its effect on other cognitive domains remains unclear. Findings suggest potential benefit for aging and stressed individuals. Since creatine is safe, future studies should include larger sample sizes. It is imperative that creatine should be tested on patients with dementias or cognitive impairment.