Dietary Creatine Intake and Depression Risk Among U.S. Adults
Do creatine-rich foods protect against depression?
Yes. Higher dietary creatine intake is associated with lower depression risk in U.S. adults, with stronger protective effects observed in women. A large-scale NHANES study published in Translational Psychiatry shows protective effect from natural food sources, with individuals having higher dietary creatine intake showing substantially lower odds of experiencing depression.
What the data show:
- Depression prevalence: 10.23 per 100 persons in lowest quartile vs 5.98 per 100 persons in highest quartile - a 42% higher prevalence with low creatine intake
- Risk reduction: 31% lower depression risk (AOR = 0.68, 95% CI: 0.52–0.88) in highest vs lowest quartile after adjusting for confounders
- Gender difference: Stronger protection in women (AOR = 0.62, 95% CI: 0.40–0.98) vs men (AOR = 0.72, 95% CI: 0.49–1.05, not significant)
- Age effect: Strongest association in ages 20–39 years (AOR = 0.52, 95% CI: 0.34–0.79)
- Medication status: Significant protection in those not taking antidepressants/anxiolytics (AOR = 0.58, 95% CI: 0.43–0.77)
- Study sample: 22,692 adult participants from NHANES 2005–2012, with 16,816 having both dietary and depression data
- Average intake: 0.54 g/day overall (0.67 g/day males, 0.42 g/day females)
- Food sources: Creatine found primarily in animal products - red meat, fish (especially herring and salmon), and poultry
- Quartile ranges: 1st quartile 0–0.26 g/day, 4th quartile 0.70–3.16 g/day
- Plant-based diets: Vegetarian and vegan diets naturally very low in creatine since it’s primarily found in animal products
- Mechanism: Dietary creatine supports brain energy metabolism through ATP regeneration and phosphocreatine energy pools, addressing impaired energy metabolism that contributes to depression - this may explain why higher dietary creatine intake is associated with better mental health outcomes, particularly in women who may have lower baseline creatine stores
A study published in Translational Psychiatry examined dietary creatine intake and depression risk among U.S. adults using National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey data. This large-scale epidemiological study analyzed data from thousands of American adults to determine whether people who consume more creatine through their regular diet have lower rates of depression compared to those with lower dietary creatine intake.