Study
The effects of creatine supplementation on cognitive function in adults: a systematic review and meta-analysis
Across 16 RCTs and 492 adults, creatine monohydrate improved memory (SMD = 0.31, 95% CI 0.18 to 0.44) but did not improve overall cognitive function.
Chen Xu and colleagues pooled 16 randomised controlled trials covering 492 adults aged 20.8 to 76.4 years. All trials used creatine monohydrate. Doses across the included studies ranged from 3 g/day to 20 g/day, plus weight-based dosing at 0.3 g/kg/day. Durations ranged from a single 7.5-hour test window to 18 months. Both healthy adults and patients (fibromyalgia, Parkinson's-related mild cognitive impairment, chronic schizophrenia) were included.
Three of five cognitive domains improved. Memory: SMD = 0.31, 95% CI 0.18 to 0.44. Attention time: SMD = -0.31, 95% CI -0.58 to -0.03. Processing speed time: SMD = -0.51, 95% CI -1.01 to -0.01. Overall cognitive function did not improve (SMD = 0.34, 95% CI -0.20 to 0.88, p = 0.22). Executive function did not improve (SMD = 0.32, 95% CI -0.08 to 0.71, p = 0.12).
Subgroup analyses reported larger effects in people with disease, in adults aged 18 to 60, and in females (processing speed time SMD = -0.87 in females versus -0.35 in males). Short interventions under 4 weeks did not differ from those of 4 weeks or longer. GRADE certainty was moderate for memory and low for every other domain.
Current evidence suggests that creatine monohydrate supplementation may confer beneficial effects on cognitive function in adults, particularly in the domains of memory, attention time, and information processing speed.
492 participants across 16 trials is a small evidence base, and individual trials were small. GRADE certainty was low for processing speed, overall cognition, executive function and attention; only memory reached moderate. The memory analysis pooled 24 effect estimates from fewer trials, so the same participants contributed multiple outcomes. Doses (3 to 20 g/day) and durations (7.5 hours to 18 months) were highly heterogeneous, and overall-cognition heterogeneity was I-squared = 75%. Populations mixed healthy adults with fibromyalgia, Parkinson's and schizophrenia patients. Overall cognitive function, the outcome most people care about, was null. Funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China; the authors declare no commercial conflicts. A corrigendum was published in 2025 (PMID 40034739) correcting the article DOI.
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