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The Effect of Acute Creatine Monohydrate Supplementation on Cognitive Function in Fatigued Healthcare Professionals: A Pilot Study
Author(s) -
Skelton Michele,
Giamo Dustin
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
the faseb journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.709
H-Index - 277
eISSN - 1530-6860
pISSN - 0892-6638
DOI - 10.1096/fasebj.27.1_supplement.lb754
Subject(s) - medicine , cognition , health professionals , creatine , health care , physical therapy , psychiatry , economics , economic growth
A recent study by the National Institute of Medicine showed as many as 98,000 patients die each year due to preventable hospital errors. The majority of these errors with the largest consequences occur in high stress environments, such as emergency departments (ED) and operating rooms. Clinical studies have demonstrated Creatine (Cr) monohydrate's impact on cognitive function. Increased memory and intelligence have been reported in Cr supplementation studies involving elderly individuals and vegetarians. The purpose of this study is to determine if short term supplementation with oral Cr‐monohydrate improves cognitive function among fatigued healthcare professionals. Two, male healthcare professionals (42.5±24.7 years) working 12‐hour shifts in the ED completed 2.5‐weeks of oral Cr‐monohydrate supplementation (5g per day). The subjects completed a battery of computerized cognitive function tests after a 12‐hour shift prior to and after creatine supplementation. Scores on cognitive function tests involving central executive tasks were significantly higher after supplementation than scores prior to supplementation (p ≤ 0.05). Results from this study suggest that acute supplementation of Cr‐monohydrate may positively impact cognitive function in fatigued healthcare professionals.