SynthesisNutrition reviews2023
Effects of creatine supplementation on memory in healthy individuals: a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.
Synthesis in Nutrition reviews, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 27 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled 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.
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.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
27 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 61 citations in OpenAlex.
- Creatine and Cognition in Aging: A Systematic Review of Evidence in Older Adults.Nutrition reviews · 2026Pooled it
- Effects of six weeks of guanidinoacetic acid supplementation with and without creatine monohydrate on cognitive function and markers of health in healthy adults.Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition · 2026Trial
- Effects of creatine supplementation with and without exercise and diet intervention on body composition, cognitive function, and markers of health in middle-aged and older adults.Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition · 2026Trial
- Trial
- Acute creatine supplementation enhances technical performance in adolescent basketball players under cognitive-motor dual-task condition.Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition · 2025Trial
- Trial
- The effects of creatine supplementation on cognitive performance-a randomised controlled study.BMC medicine · 2023Trial
- The emerging and evolving evidence supporting creatine as an ergogenic aid: history and applications.Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition · 2026Review
- Review
- Perspective: use of beef in a dietary intervention as an effective strategy for improving cognition in young adult females.Frontiers in nutrition · 2026Article
- Commentary: The effects of creatine supplementation on cognitive function in adults: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Frontiers in nutrition · 2026Article
- Creatine in women's health: bridging the gap from menstruation through pregnancy to menopause.Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition · 2025Review
- Creatine monohydrate supplementation for older adults and clinical populations.Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition · 2025Review
- Are there Effective Vegan-Friendly Supplements for Optimizing Health and Sports Performance? a Narrative Review.Current nutrition reports · 2025Review
- Assessing Creatine-Related Gene Expression in Kidney Disease: Can Available Data Give Insights into an Old Discussion?Nutrients · 2025Review
- Creatine supplementation and exercise in aging: a narrative review of the muscle-brain axis and its impact on cognitive and physical health.Frontiers in nutrition · 2025Review
- Review
- Intratesticular creatine maintains spermatogenesis by defining tight junctions.Scientific reports · 2024Article
- It Is Not Just About Storing Energy: The Multifaceted Role of Creatine Metabolism on Cancer Biology and Immunology.International journal of molecular sciences · 2024Review
- Effects of Creatine Monohydrate Supplementation on Muscle, Bone and Brain- Hope or Hype for Older Adults?Current osteoporosis reports · 2024Review
Corrections and comments
- Commented on by
Authors and funding
6 authors at 6 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
contextFrom an energy perspective, the brain is very metabolically demanding. It is well documented that creatine plays a key role in brain bioenergetics. There is some evidence that creatine supplementation can augment brain creatine stores, which could increase memory.
objectiveA systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) was conducted to determine the effects of creatine supplementation on memory performance in healthy humans. DATA SOURCES: The literature was searched through the PubMed, Web of Science, Cochrane Library, and Scopus databases from inception until September 2021. DATA EXTRACTION: Twenty-three eligible RCTs were initially identified. Ten RCTs examining the effect of creatine supplementation compared with placebo on measures of memory in healthy individuals met the inclusion criteria for systematic review, 8 of which were included in the meta-analysis. DATA ANALYSIS: Overall, creatine supplementation improved measures of memory compared with placebo (standard mean difference [SMD] = 0.29, 95%CI, 0.04-0.53; I2 = 66%; P = 0.02). Subgroup analyses revealed a significant improvement in memory in older adults (66-76 years) (SMD = 0.88; 95%CI, 0.22-1.55; I2 = 83%; P = 0.009) compared with their younger counterparts (11-31 years) (SMD = 0.03; 95%CI, -0.14 to 0.20; I2 = 0%; P = 0.72). Creatine dose (≈ 2.2-20 g/d), duration of intervention (5 days to 24 weeks), sex, or geographical origin did not influence the findings.
conclusionCreatine supplementation enhanced measures of memory performance in healthy individuals, especially in older adults (66-76 years). SYSTEMATIC REVIEW REGISTRATION: PROSPERO registration no. 42021281027.
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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.