RESEARCH BRIEF · HORMONE & METABOLIC HEALTH
Creatine in Perimenopause and Menopause: What the Newest Research Shows
Three 2025 studies are the first to look directly at creatine in midlife women — covering muscle, bone, and, for the first time, the brain.
Dr. Cosette Stahl, DO
Founder & Physician, Vital Coeur Health · 2 min read
September 14, 2026
Leg-press strength gain over placebo (2025 meta-analysis, 608 women)
Longest RCT: creatine preserved hip bone geometry despite no change in density
Brain creatine rose in regions tied to mood and memory (CONCRET-MENOPA, 2025)
As estrogen declines, women lose muscle and bone faster and report more brain fog than ever before — estrogen shapes all three. Creatine is stored in muscleand brain, where it helps regenerate cellular energy. Three new trials tested whether supplementing it actually helps.
Muscle & strength
A 2025 meta-analysis of 7 RCTs (608 postmenopausal women) found modest but real gains — +7.5 kg leg-press strength and +0.37 kg lean mass over placebo. The catch: benefits only appeared at 5 g/day or more, paired with resistance training. Creatine without training did nothing.
Bone
A two-year RCT in 237 postmenopausal women found no extra gain in bone density over exercise alone — but the creatine group maintained hip bonegeometry (resistance to bending and compressive stress), a structural benefit a standard DEXA scan doesn’t capture.
Brain fog & mood
The CONCRET-MENOPA trial (36 women, ages 40–60, 8 weeks) directly measured brain creatine for the first time — it rose in frontal regions tied to mood and memory. The 1,500 mg/day dose cut fatigue and concentration problems and sped reaction time, with no weight gain. It’s a small trial and needs replication, but it’s the first hard link between “menopause brain fog” and a modifiable mechanism.
Practical takeaway
3–5 g creatine monohydrate daily + resistance training 2×/week, 24+ weeks.
750–1,500 mg creatine HCl studied — newer evidence, best individualized with your physician.
Creatine monohydrate has a strong long-term safety record; mild GI upset is the most common side effect. Talk to your physician first if you have kidney disease or take medications affecting kidney function.
One supplement is never the whole plan.
Vital Coeur Health connects your labs, hormones, and strength programming into one physician-led plan — so decisions like this one are made for your biology, not guessed at alone.
Explore our integrated care modelEducational content, not a substitute for individualized medical advice. Talk with your physician before starting creatine or any new supplement.
Referenced Research
- CONCRET-MENOPA (2025) · J. American Nutrition Association
- Creatine monohydrate meta-analysis, postmenopausal women (2025)
- Creatine in women’s health review · J. Intl. Society of Sports Nutrition, 2025
- 2-yr RCT, creatine + exercise for postmenopausal bone health