title: Does creatine supplementation improve functional capacity in elderly women?
abstract: The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of short-term (7 days) oral creatine supplementation (0.3 g.kg(-1)) in elderly women during exercise tests that reflect functional capacity during daily living tasks. We assessed several indices of endurance capacity (1-mile walk test, gross mechanical efficiency, ventilatory threshold, and peak oxygen intake determined during cycle-ergometry) and lower-extremity functional performance (time to complete sit-stand test). Subjects were assigned to a creatine (n = 10; age 67 +/- 6 years) or placebo (n = 6; age 68 +/- 4 years) group. We found a significant improvement only after creatine loading in the sit-stand test (placebo: 9.7 +/- 0.9 seconds for pretest and 9.3 +/- 0.7 seconds for posttest, p > 0.05; creatine: 10.0 +/- 0.7 seconds for pretest and 8.8 +/- 1.1 seconds for posttest). Significance was recorded at p < 0.05 for the interaction effect (group [creatine, placebo] x time [pretest, posttest]). In elderly women, short-term oral creatine supplementation does not improve endurance capacity but increases the ability to perform lower-body functional living tasks involving rapid movements.
authors.affiliation: Universisad Europea de Madrid, Spain.
authors.forename: Silvia
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Cañete
authors.forename: Alejandro F
authors.initials: AF
authors.lastname: San Juan
authors.forename: Margarita
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Pérez
authors.forename: Félix
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Gómez-Gallego
authors.forename: Luis M
authors.initials: LM
authors.lastname: López-Mojares
authors.forename: Conrad P
authors.initials: CP
authors.lastname: Earnest
authors.forename: Steven J
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Fleck
authors.forename: Alejandro
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Lucia
mesh_terms: D000203:Activities of Daily Living; D000284:Administration, Oral; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D003401:Creatine / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D019587:Dietary Supplements; D005080:Exercise Test; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D035002:Lower Extremity / Q000502:physiology; D008875:Middle Aged; D010101:Oxygen Consumption / Q000502:physiology; D010807:Physical Endurance / Q000502:physiology; D016037:Single-Blind Method
chemical_list: D003401:Creatine