Effects of six-month creatine supplementation on patient- and clinician-reported outcomes, and tissue creatine levels in patients with post-COVID-19 fatigue syndrome
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Food Sci Nutr
. 2023 Sep 20;11(11):6899-6906. doi: 10.1002/fsn3.3597. eCollection 2023 Nov.
Effects of six-month creatine supplementation on patient- and clinician-reported outcomes, and tissue creatine levels in patients with post-COVID-19 fatigue syndrome
Jelena Slankamenac 1, Marijana Ranisavljev 1, Nikola Todorovic 1, Jelena Ostojic 1 2, Valdemar Stajer 1, Sergej M Ostojic 1 3 4
Affiliations Expand
PMID: 37970399 PMCID: PMC10630839 DOI: 10.1002/fsn3.3597
Abstract
Dietary creatine has been recently put forward as a possible intervention strategy to reduce post-COVID-19 fatigue syndrome yet no clinical study so far evaluated its efficacy and safety for this perplexing condition. In this parallel-group, randomized placebo-controlled double-blind trial, we analyzed the effects of 6-month creatine supplementation (4 g of creatine monohydrate per day) on various patient- and clinician-reported outcomes, and tissue creatine levels in 12 patients with post-COVID-19 fatigue syndrome. Creatine intake induced a significant increase in tissue creatine levels in vastus medialis muscle and right parietal white matter compared to the baseline values at both 3-month and 6-month follow-ups (p < .05). Two-way analysis of variance with repeated measures revealed a significant difference (treatment vs. time interaction) between interventions in tissue creatine levels (p < .05), with the creatine group was superior to placebo to augment creatine levels at vastus medialis muscle, left frontal white matter, and right parietal white matter. Creatine supplementation induced a significant reduction in general fatigue after 3 months of intake compared to baseline values (p = .04), and significantly improved scores for several post-COVID-19 fatigue syndrome-related symptoms (e.g., ageusia, breathing difficulties, body aches, headache, and difficulties concentrating) at 6-month follow-up (p < .05). Taking creatine for 6 months appears to improve tissue bioenergetics and attenuate clinical features of post-COVID-19 fatigue syndrome; additional studies are warranted to confirm our findings in various post-COVID-19 cohorts.Keywords: creatine; post‐COVID‐19 fatigue syndrome; skeletal muscle; supplementation; white matter.
2023 The Authors. Food Science & Nutrition published by Wiley Periodicals LLC.