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Dietary creatine intake and mental health among the Korean population
This cross-sectional study investigates the association between daily creatine intake and mental health indicators, utilizing data from the 2022 Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (KNHANES). The analysis included 5,257 participants, with a mean age of 51.1 years (56% female). The mean daily creatine intake was found to be 10.3 mg/kg body mass. One-way ANOVA revealed significant differences in depression scores across creatine intake quartiles (F = 4.003, p = 0.007), indicating that individuals in the lowest quartile exhibited higher depression scores compared to those in higher quartiles (p ≤ 0.05). The prevalence of depression was notably highest among the lowest quartile (6.9%), in contrast to the second (3.3%), third (4.3%), and fourth quartiles (3.6%) (p ≤ 0.05). Furthermore, the lowest quartile reported elevated rates of suicidal ideation and attempts compared to higher quartiles (p ≤ 0.05). While higher creatine intake correlated with reduced odds of generalized anxiety disorder after adjusting for creatine turnover biomarkers and demographic factors (p ≤ 0.05), this association diminished when lifestyle variables were accounted for (p > 0.05). These findings imply that increased dietary creatine may confer modest protective effects against depression, suicidality, and anxiety. However, due to the cross-sectional nature of the study, causality cannot be established; therefore, further longitudinal and interventional research is needed to validate these associations and investigate the underlying mechanisms. [NPID: creatine, anxiety, depression, Korean]
Year: 2025
