Both groups received an antidepressant
The double-blind trial assigned 52 women with major depressive disorder to escitalopram plus either creatine monohydrate or placebo for eight weeks. The creatine group received 5 grams daily as the research intervention. [1]
Depression rating scores improved more with creatine augmentation, with a difference reported from week two through weeks four and eight. This was an adjunct-treatment finding in a selected population. [1]
The result does not establish a standalone treatment
Eight of 25 participants assigned creatine and five of 27 assigned placebo discontinued early. Overall reported adverse-event frequency did not differ significantly between groups, but a small, brief study cannot establish long-term safety. [1]
The abstract does not fully establish funding or conflicts. It also cannot determine effectiveness in men, bipolar depression or people taking different medicines. These findings do not justify changing prescribed depression treatment without the treating clinician. [1]
Keep the existing treatment in the comparison
Imagine treatment A plus supplement B outperforms treatment A plus placebo. That does not demonstrate that B alone would work as well as A.
| Detail | Interpretation |
|---|---|
| 52 women | Selected trial population |
| Eight weeks | Short follow-up |
| Escitalopram in both groups | Add-on comparison |
Sources for this article
- A randomized, double-blind placebo-controlled trial of oral creatine monohydrate augmentation for enhanced response to a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor in women with major depressive disorder - PubMed
Source consulted: 2026-09-19. This is a reference resource, not a claim that we conducted the studies or tested a product.