945 effectiveness of creatine supplementation on memory in healthy individuals: a systematic review and meta-analysis
Abstract
The benefit of creatine monohydrate supplementation in improving memory performance in healthy humans is unclear. The aim of this study was to determine the effectiveness of creatine monohydrate supplementation on memory performance in healthy humans.
A literature search of PubMed, Web of Science, Cochrane Library, and Scopus for randomized clinical trials (RCTs) published from database inception until September 30, 2021, examining the effects of creatine supplementation on measures of memory in healthy humans was conducted. The control groups consisted of placebo. The main outcome was performance measures of memory that were further examined according to age, sex, treatment duration, and dose of creatine monohydrate supplementation.
Ten RCTs met the inclusion criteria and 8 were included in the meta-analysis. Overall, creatine supplementation improved memory compared to placebo (SMD: 0.29, 95% CI: 0.04–0.53, I2 = 66%, P = 0.02). Subgroup analyses revealed a significant improvement on memory in older adults (66–76 years) (SMD: 0.88, 95% CI: 0.22–1.55, I2 = 83%, P = 0.009). Creatine dose, duration of intervention, and sex did not influence the findings.
These data support that the use of creatine monohydrate supplementation enhances memory performance in healthy humans compared to placebo, especially in older adults. However, caution is warranted due to the combination of various assessment tools designed to measure memory, which would increase the heterogeneity of the data.
How strong is the evidence?
Evidence Hub reads this as a meta-analysis, done in people. Its evidence level is 1 of 5 (Highest · pooled evidence). Pooled evidence from several studies sits at the top of the evidence pyramid.
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