Evidence map›Paper›PMID 29704637›Full record

SynthesisExperimental gerontology2018

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

Konstantinos I Avgerinos, Nikolaos Spyrou, Konstantinos I Bougioukas, Dimitrios Kapogiannis

Registry-linked trialAbstract readSystematic Review
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Synthesis in Experimental gerontology, 2018. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT05562232 (The Effect of Creatine Monohydrate on Persistent Post-concussive Symptoms - a Pilot Study Protocol), which is not on this map. Cited by 77 papers, 6 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
77citing papers in PubMed, 6 pooled it
3.6field-weighted citation impact, top 7% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

NCT05562232 naunknown statusnot on this mapstarted 2023, after this paper: background citation

The Effect of Creatine Monohydrate on Persistent Post-concussive Symptoms - a Pilot Study Protocol

TypeinterventionalSponsorPsychiatric Research Unit, Region Zealand, DenmarkRan2023 to 2024Enrolled45ConditionsMild Traumatic Brain Injury, Concussion, BrainArmsCreatine Monohydrate
3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

77 citing papers in PubMed, 6 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 145 citations in OpenAlex.

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  5. Effects of saffron (Crocus sativus L.) on cognitive function. A systematic review of RCTs.Neurological sciences : official journal of the Italian Neurological Society and of the Italian Society of Clinical Neurophysiology · 2020
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  16. Cognitive impairment in glaucoma.Indian journal of ophthalmology · 2026
    Review
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17 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

4 authors at 3 institutions in 2 countries.

Konstantinos I Avgerinos251 Hellenic Airforce General Hospital, Athens, Greece; Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Faculty of Health Sciences, Department of Medicine, Greece. Electronic address: kwstas-avge@hotmail.com.
Nikolaos Spyrou251 Hellenic Airforce General Hospital, Athens, Greece; Faculty of Medicine, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Greece.
Konstantinos I BougioukasAristotle University of Thessaloniki, Faculty of Health Sciences, Department of Medicine, Greece.
Dimitrios KapogiannisLaboratory of Neurosciences, National Institute on Aging, USA.
Aristotle University of Thessaloniki · GRInstitute on Aging · USNational and Kapodistrian University of Athens · GR

Funding

Studies in Dementia and Neurodegenerative DiseasesZIAAG000975 · NIA · NATIONAL INSTITUTE ON AGING · PI KAPOGIANNIS, DIMITRIOS · 2009 to 2025
$31.5M
Intramural NIH HHS Z99 AG999999Intramural NIH HHS ZIA AG000975
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

BACKGROUND AND

aimsCreatine 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.

methodsA 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.

resultsSix 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.

conclusionsOral 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.

Indexed as

CognitionDietary SupplementsCreatineHealthy VolunteersHumansIntelligenceMemory, Short-TermRandomized Controlled Trials as TopicCreatineCognitive functionCreatineHealthy individualsMemory

Identifiers

PMID29704637
PMCPMC6093191
OpenAlexW2800160848

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceTDM
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.