While there are several options to help treat the symptoms of depression, they’ve come with varying success on a case-by-case basis. And although the latest potential inclusion in your daily routine has shown signs of helping aid depression, it’s not a replacement for SSRIs (selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors) or SNRIs (serotonin-norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors).
However, as Dr. Peter Attia, a physician, author, and researcher who specializes in longevity medicine, details, studies have shown that the impacts of creatine point to a positive impact on managing depression. Attia, who hosts The Drive podcast in which he speaks with various specialists and also details unique approaches to health, offered insight into the impacts of creatine in a recent newsletter.
Details of Creatine’s Impact on Helping to Manage Depression
Although creatine has long been viewed as a tool for muscle energy metabolism, Attia explains that it “plays a critical role in maintaining brain energy homeostasis.”
“It serves as both an energy buffer — storing cellular energy in the form of high-energy chemical bonds as phosphocreatine — and an energy shuttle, transporting energy produced by mitochondria to areas of high demand within neurons, such as synapses,” Attia explains.
“With creatine’s ability to cross the blood-brain barrier, increases in brain creatine reserves could thus theoretically improve brain bioenergetics and may act synergistically with monoamine-based treatments (like SSRIs),” he continues. “…Indeed, growing evidence suggests that combining creatine with SSRIs may improve treatment outcomes.”
Attia detailed multiple studies, one in which a group of 100 participants with clinical diagnoses of depression were split into two groups. The participants were made up of an equal number of men and women and featured an average age of 30.4 years,
Half of the group received cognitive behavioral therapy and five grams a day of creatine, while the other half received cognitive behavioral therapy and a placebo for an eight-week span.
Attia described below how the outcomes were assessed:
“…The primary outcome — improvement in symptom severity — was assessed by the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9), a standard method for evaluating depressive symptoms. Scores on the PHQ-9 can range from 0 to 27, with higher scores indicating more severe depression (mild depression: scores of 5–9, moderate: 10–14, moderate-severe: 15–19, and severe: ≥20).”
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Results of Creatine Studies & Impact on Helping Depression
There were many noteworthy returns from this specific study that Attia highlights, including the fact that both groups improved from baseline to the eight-week point. However, Attia explained the drastic improvements shown from those taking five grams of creatine per day.
“Results indicated that both groups improved significantly in symptom severity from baseline to the 8-week timepoint,” Attia said. “However, the creatine group showed statistically significantly greater improvements, with scores dropping an additional 5.12 points compared to placebo (95% CI: −7.20 to −3.52).”
In short, the group that also added creatine to their daily routine moved from the “moderately severe depression” range to “mild depression,” a significant improvement. Attia also highlights that 12 participants in the creatine group achieved remission, while five from the placebo group did.
“Specifically, the CBT-creatine group moved from moderately severe depression (17.8±6.1) to mild depression (5.8±4.8), while the CBT-placebo group remained in the moderate range (shifting from 17.6±6.4 to 11.9±6.6). Additionally, twelve participants in the CBT-creatine group achieved remission (PHQ-9 score <5) compared with five in the CBT-placebo group.”
Attia also noted that there was a high dropout rate from both sides of this study, roughly 40 percent on each group, which could impact the returns slightly. However, although it’s just one study, he highlights several other aspects/studies that have signaled a positive impact on mental health and aiding with depression when taking along SSRIs.
The positive returns of creatine have become a common topic of conversation in recent years, making this detailed breakdown from Attia even more interesting.
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