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Effects of creatine supplementation on cognitive function of healthy individuals: A systematic review of randomized controlled trials.

Experimental gerontology
January 1, 1970
Konstantinos I Avgerinos et al. (4 authors)
Journal ArticleSystematic ReviewHuman Study
Study Details

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

Extracted Claims (6)
InterventionDirectionEndpointPopulationDosageImpactClaim #
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
Abstract

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.

Medical Subject Headings (MeSH)
CognitionCreatineDietary SupplementsHealthy VolunteersHumansIntelligenceMemory, Short-TermRandomized Controlled Trials as Topic
Study Links
Quality Scores
SafetyNot Assessed
Efficacy65/10
Quality75/10
Citation Metrics
Total Citations68
Citations/Year9.7
Relative Citation Ratio4.40
NIH Percentile91.5%
Research Impact Scores
APT Score0.95
Weight Score1.83
Normalized Score0.61
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