Effects of creatine supplementation on cognitive function of healthy individuals: A systematic review of randomized controlled trials.
Level 1 - systematic review of randomized trials
Systematic review of randomized controlled trials
PubMed 29704637 · doi:10.1016/j.exger.2018.04.013
What was done
Authors systematically reviewed randomized controlled trials identified from multiple electronic databases to evaluate the cognitive effects of oral creatine supplementation in healthy individuals.
What was found
Six RCTs comprising 281 individuals met inclusion criteria. Creatine supplementation was associated with potential improvements in short-term memory and intelligence/reasoning. Results were conflicting for long-term memory, spatial memory, memory scanning, attention, executive function, response inhibition, word fluency, reaction time, and mental fatigue. Cognitive performance remained unchanged in young individuals. Vegetarians showed greater memory task improvements than meat-eaters, but showed no differences in other cognitive domains. The abstract reported no numerical effect sizes or p-values.
Why it matters
This review synthesizes the early trial literature on creatine for brain health, indicating selective benefits for short-term memory and reasoning, particularly in populations that may have lower baseline creatine levels.
Limits
The total sample size was small (6 studies, 281 participants). Findings were conflicting or null across most cognitive domains, no benefit was observed in young individuals, and the abstract provided no specific numerical results, dosages, or trial durations.