ArticleJournal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition2025
Safety of creatine supplementation: analysis of the prevalence of reported side effects in clinical trials and adverse event reports.
Article in Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 18 papers, 3 of them syntheses 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
18 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Creatine monohydrate for lean mass, strength, and bone density in postmenopausal women: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition · 2026Pooled it
- Does creatine affect lipid profile? a systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized placebo-controlled trials.Frontiers in nutrition · 2026Pooled it
- Creatine supplementation and resistance training: a comparison between novice and experienced lifters - a systematic review and dose-response meta-analysis.Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition · 2025Pooled it
- 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
- Oral creatine in hemodialysis patients increases physical functional capacity and muscle mass, an open label study.PloS one · 2025Trial
- The emerging and evolving evidence supporting creatine as an ergogenic aid: history and applications.Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition · 2026Review
- Real-world creatine supplementation: a large-scale cross-sectional study of use, knowledge, and experiences.Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition · 2026Article
- International Society of Sports Nutrition position stand: effects of dietary antioxidants on exercise and sports performance.Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition · 2026Review
- Review
- Creatine Supplementation Dose and Duration Are Not Associated with Increased Side Effects: A Structured Review and Study-Level Dose-Response Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials.Sports (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Review
- The evolving role of creatine in public health: from food-based nutrient to supplement and beyond.Public health nutrition · 2025Review
- Creatine Supplementation Combined with Exercise in the Prevention of Type 2 Diabetes: Effects on Insulin Resistance and Sarcopenia.Nutrients · 2025Review
- Creatine monohydrate supplementation for older adults and clinical populations.Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition · 2025Review
- Article
- A short review of the most common safety concerns regarding creatine ingestion.Frontiers in nutrition · 2025Review
- Effects of fungal supplementation on endurance, immune function, and hematological profiles in adult athletes: a systematic review and meta-analysis.Frontiers in nutrition · 2025Review
- Editorial: Cognitive impairment and physical function in older adults.Frontiers in physiology · 2025Article
- Sports injuries as reversible involution: a novel approach to rehabilitation and readaptation.Frontiers in sports and active living · 2025Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
5 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundIndividual studies have indicated that creatine supplementation is generally well tolerated and not associated with clinically significant side effects. Nevertheless, anecdotal reports about side effects persist primarily from popular and social media and on the Internet.
methodsThis study evaluated side effects reported from 685 human clinical trials on creatine supplementation, worldwide adverse event report (AER) databases, and performed a social media sentiment analysis. The presence of side effects (No, Yes) in studies was evaluated using chi-squared analysis. The frequency of side effects among study participants was evaluated using a multivariate analysis of variance.
resultsA total of 13,452 participants in 652 studies ingested placebos (PLA), while 12,839 participants in 685 studies consumed creatine (Cr). Nearly all studies (95%) provided CrM at an average dose of 0.166 [0.159, 0.173] g/kg/d (about 12.5 g/d) for 64.7 [52.0, 77.3] days in studies lasting up to 14 yrs. Side effects were reported in 13.2% of studies in the PLA groups and 13.7% of studies in the Cr-supplemented groups, with no significant differences observed between the groups (
conclusionResults demonstrate that Cr supplementation does not increase the prevalence or frequency of side effects when compared to participants ingesting PLA. Therefore, claims that Cr supplementation increases the risk of side effects are unfounded.
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What Socratic holds
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 Socratic graph.