Association between dietary intake of creatine and female reproductive health: Evidence from NHANES 2017-2020.

The hormonal changes in women influence creatine dynamics, emphasizing its potential importance during menstruation, pregnancy, postpartum, menopause, and postmenopause. Yet, limited research explores creatine's impact on female reproductive health at the population level. Our study investigated the relationship between dietary creatine intake and reproductive health indices in US women using data from the 2017-2020 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES). We extracted a dataset containing females aged 12 years and above who provided details about their reproductive health and dietary habits. Daily creatine intake was quantified as a relative amount (mg per kg body mass) and did not include creatine from dietary supplements and pharmacological agents. A daily requirement for dietary creatine for healthy women was employed to classify respondents into two separate subpopulations: (1) suboptimal intake of creatine (<13 mg per kg body mass per day) or (2) recommended intake (dietary creatine ≥ 13 mg per kg body mass per day). A total of 4522 female participants from the NHANES study (age 44.5 ± 20.5 years) provided data on their reproductive health and dietary intake. The average daily creatine intake for the group was 10.5 ± 10.8 mg per kg body mass. The odds ratio for having irregular periods in women consuming ≥13 mg of creatine per kg body mass daily (recommended intake) compared to those with suboptimal intake was 0.75 (95% CI, from 0.66 to 0.86), indicating a significant association between higher intake of dietary creatine and lower risk of oligomenorrhea ( p  < .001). Moreover, women consuming less than 13 mg of creatine per kg body mass faced an increased risk of fetal macrosomia (OR 1.26; p  = .04), pelvic infection (OR 1.68; p  = .01), hysterectomy (OR 1.42; p  < .001), oophorectomy (OR 1.54; p  < .001), and receiving hormone replacement therapy (OR 1.26; p  = .02). Consuming a creatine-rich diet has been linked to lower risks of reproductive issues in US women aged 12 and above. Those consuming ≥13 mg of creatine per kg body mass daily showed notably lower risks of irregular menstrual periods, obstetric conditions, and pelvic pathology. Further studies are needed to confirm these potential benefits.
Competing Interests: SMO, SJE, and ASR serve as members of the Scientific Advisory Board on creatine in health and medicine (AlzChem LLC). SMO co‐owns patent “Supplements Based on Liquid Creatine” at the European Patent Office (WO2019150323 A1). SMO has received research support related to creatine during the past 36 months from the Ministry of Education, Science, and Technological Development; Provincial Secretariat for Higher Education and Scientific Research; Alzchem Group AG; ThermoLife International; and Hueston Hennigan LLP. SMO does not own stocks and shares in any organization. ASR serves as a Scientific Advisor for Create Wellness, a creatine‐based gummy. THS declares no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the authorship of this paper.
(© 2024 The Authors. Food Science & Nutrition published by Wiley Periodicals LLC.)