Creatine and Menopause: What the 2025 Research Actually Found
Creatine research has historically focused on young male athletes, which left a big gap for anyone trying to understand what it actually does across the rest of a woman’s life. That gap is closing fast. In 2025 alone, two separate clinical trials looked specifically at creatine supplementation in perimenopausal and postmenopausal women, and a major review pulled the existing evidence together into a single picture spanning menstruation through to menopause.
Here is what that research actually found, without overstating what a handful of small trials can tell us.
In this article
Why Creatine Is Getting Attention Here
Skeletal muscle mass and strength decline with age in everyone, but the decline accelerates during the menopause transition, alongside changes in bone density, sleep and cognitive function. Creatine has been studied for decades as a strength and recovery aid, and a small but growing number of researchers have started asking a more specific question: does it behave any differently once oestrogen levels fall.
A 2025 review in the Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition pulled together the available evidence on creatine across a woman’s reproductive lifespan, from menstruation through pregnancy to menopause, and concluded that reproductive hormone status likely influences how creatine is synthesised, transported and used in the body. That is the scientific rationale behind the two clinical trials below.
The Estrogen and Creatine Connection
Oestrogen influences creatine kinase activity, the enzyme system creatine relies on to help regenerate energy in muscle and brain cells. As oestrogen declines during perimenopause and menopause, some researchers have proposed that the body’s own creatine metabolism becomes less efficient, which is part of the theory for why supplementation might matter more at this life stage than earlier in adulthood.
This is still an emerging area. The review authors were clear that the mechanistic theory is ahead of the direct clinical evidence, which is exactly why the two 2025 trials below are significant, they are among the first to test the theory directly in this specific population.
The 2025 Strength, Sleep and Cognition Trial
Published in the Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition, this trial followed 15 women with a mean age of 54 (five perimenopausal, ten postmenopausal) through 14 weeks of 5g daily creatine monohydrate combined with two supervised resistance training sessions per week.
Participants showed significant increases in lower-body strength, improved sleep quality (most notable in the perimenopausal subgroup), and modest cognitive improvements over the 14-week period.
The trial also measured body composition and oestrogen-related markers, both showed only slight changes. It’s worth being upfront about the limitations here too: this was a small, single-site study with no placebo control group, so it demonstrates a promising signal rather than definitive proof.
The CONCRET-MENOPA Trial on Mood and Reaction Time
A separate, placebo-controlled trial published in the Journal of the American Nutrition Association took a different angle, cognition and mood rather than strength. It randomised 36 perimenopausal and menopausal women (mean age 50) to one of four groups: low-dose creatine hydrochloride, medium-dose creatine hydrochloride, a creatine hydrochloride and creatine ethyl ester combination, or placebo, over eight weeks.
The medium-dose group showed a measurable edge over placebo on a reaction time test (a 1.2% improvement versus a 6.6% decline in the placebo group) and a potential advantage in reducing the severity of mood swings, though that mood result did not quite reach standard statistical significance. All doses were well tolerated, with no serious adverse effects reported.
This was the first trial of its kind to look specifically at cognition and mood outcomes in this population, which is exactly why it’s being widely discussed in sports nutrition circles despite its small size.
How Much Creatine the Studies Used
The strength and sleep trial used a standard maintenance dose of 5g of creatine monohydrate per day, no loading phase. The cognition trial tested lower doses of creatine hydrochloride (750mg to 1,500mg daily), a different form of creatine, so the two results aren’t directly comparable on a gram-for-gram basis.
For most women, the position of the International Society of Sports Nutrition remains the most established reference point: a standard maintenance dose of 3 to 5g of creatine monohydrate per day, taken consistently, is well studied and considered safe for healthy adults.
Safety and Limitations
Creatine monohydrate has one of the longest safety track records of any sports supplement, with the ISSN position stand describing it as safe and well tolerated across the doses studied in healthy adults. Both trials above reported good tolerability with no serious adverse effects.
That said, both trials were small (15 and 36 participants) and short in duration (14 and 8 weeks), and neither was designed to detect rare side effects or long-term outcomes. If you are managing an existing health condition, taking regular medication, or are unsure whether creatine is right for you, it’s worth checking with your doctor first.
The Bottom Line
The 2025 research on creatine during perimenopause and menopause is early but genuinely encouraging. Two independent, peer-reviewed trials found measurable benefits across strength, sleep, reaction time and mood, on top of decades of established safety data in the general population. Neither trial is large enough to settle the question definitively, but both point in the same direction, and more research is already underway.
If you’d like to try it, our creatine for women is a pure, micronised creatine monohydrate with no fillers or added flavours, dosed in line with the research above.
This article is general information, not medical advice, and is not a substitute for guidance from your doctor, particularly if you are managing an existing health condition or taking medication.
Jasmine Meagher
BSc Food Science and Nutrition · Founder, Ritua
Jasmine founded Ritua to bring evidence-based, TGA-compliant supplements to Australian women. She writes about the research behind every ingredient Ritua sells.
FAQs
Can creatine help with menopause?
Early 2025 clinical trials found measurable benefits in strength, sleep quality, reaction time and mood in perimenopausal and postmenopausal women taking creatine alongside resistance training. The research is promising but still small-scale, so it points to a benefit rather than proving one conclusively.
How much creatine should I take?
The 2025 strength and sleep trial used 5g of creatine monohydrate daily. The general ISSN recommendation for healthy adults is 3 to 5g per day, taken consistently, with no loading phase required.
Does creatine affect hormones like oestrogen?
The 2025 UK trial measured oestrogen-related markers and found only slight changes over 14 weeks. Researchers believe oestrogen may influence how the body uses creatine, but this hasn’t been established as a two-way effect.
Are there side effects to be aware of?
Both 2025 trials reported creatine was well tolerated with no serious adverse effects. Creatine monohydrate has a long-established safety profile in healthy adults generally, though anyone managing an existing health condition or taking medication should check with their doctor first.
Is creatine hydrochloride different from creatine monohydrate?
Yes, they’re different forms of creatine. Creatine monohydrate is the most researched and most widely used form, and is what most standard dosing guidance (including the ISSN position stand) is based on. Creatine hydrochloride was used in the smaller CONCRET-MENOPA trial at lower gram doses, but has a much smaller research base overall.
Sources
- Impact of creatine supplementation on menopausal women’s body composition, cognition, estrogen, strength, and sleep. Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition (2025).
- The Effects of 8-Week Creatine Hydrochloride and Creatine Ethyl Ester Supplementation on Cognition, Clinical Outcomes, and Brain Creatine Levels in Perimenopausal and Menopausal Women (CONCRET-MENOPA). Journal of the American Nutrition Association (2025).
- Creatine in women’s health: bridging the gap from menstruation through pregnancy to menopause. Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition (2025).
- International Society of Sports Nutrition position stand: safety and efficacy of creatine supplementation in exercise, sport, and medicine. National Institutes of Health (PMC).