Creatine and cognition in older adults: suggestive evidence with substantial gaps
Most included studies reported a positive relationship, but the review mixed supplementation studies with dietary surveys and rated much of the evidence as limited in quality.
Based on the published abstract. The full paper may contain additional methods, results and limitations.
The 30-second takeaway
The review found generally favorable links between creatine and cognition, particularly memory and attention, in mostly healthy older adults. However, most included studies estimated dietary intake from recall rather than testing supplements. The findings therefore do not establish that starting creatine improves cognition, or that the results apply to people with cognitive impairment.
Study quality was rated good in 1 study, fair in 2 and poor in 3. The abstract gives no pooled effect estimate or detailed supplementation comparisons.
Dietary associations and supplement effects differ
Only 2 studies used double-blind supplementation interventions; 4 were cross-sectional dietary analyses. These designs answer different questions: associations with estimated food intake cannot by themselves demonstrate what a supplement would do to cognitive performance.
Study counts do not measure benefit
A positive relationship was reported in 5 of 6 studies. That count does not describe the size of any cognitive effect, and the abstract does not explain the remaining study's result in detail.
The original publication
Creatine and Cognition in Aging: A Systematic Review of Evidence in Older Adults.
Marshall S, Kitzan A, Wright J et al.
Nutr Rev · 2026
- PubMed ID
- 40971619
- Record checked
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