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Creatine supplementation for optimization of physical function in the patient at risk of functional disability: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Thomas W Davies, Naomi Watson, James J Pilkington, Thomas J McClelland, Giada Azzopardi, Rupert M Pearse, John Prowle, Zudin Puthucheary

JPEN J Parenter Enteral Nutr 2024 48(4):389-405

Bibliography

PubMed: PMID 38417175
DOI: 10.1002/jpen.2607
Funding: No explicit funding statement was located in the accessible PubMed or publisher records during Biohack Blueprint's 2026-10-02 audit. This is an audit-status statement, not confirmation that the study received no funding.
Competing interests: The paper reports consultancy, research-support, honoraria, speaker-fee and hospitality relationships for several authors, including Zudin Puthucheary, Rupert Pearse and John Prowle; see the publisher disclosure for the full statement.

Study snapshot

Design	Systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials
Model	Human
Sample	33 RCTs; 1,076 participants
Intervention	Creatine supplementation versus placebo in older adults and adults with chronic disease
Duration	Varied by included trial
Endpoints	Sit-to-stand physical function; Other physical function; Muscle function; Body composition

What the study showed, in plain terms

Clinical-oriented meta-analysis examining creatine in people at risk of functional disability rather than only healthy athletes.

Key findings

Across trials, creatine showed a small pooled signal for improved sit-to-stand physical function, but uncertainty was substantial and Bayesian analysis indicated only moderate probability of benefit.

What this study can and cannot tell us

Considerable clinical and statistical heterogeneity; primary outcome pooling drew from only six trials and populations ranged across older adults and chronic disease.

Citation network

Articles citing this research paper

1 article

Biohack Blueprint analyses that reference this study in their evidence base.

Oct 2, 2026 Creatine for Older Adults: Strength, Function, Muscle and Healthy AgingCreatine for older adults: what randomized trials and meta-analyses show about strength, muscle mass, physical function, cognition and practical dosing.Read analysis

Editorial review

Reviewed by the Biohack Blueprint research team

Last verified 02 October 2026

Dr. Khaled Mahmoud, MBBChCritical Care Medicine, Longevity Science & Editorial Direction