The Study
Three Weeks of Creatine Monohydrate Supplementation Affects Dihydrotestosterone to Testosterone Ratio in College-Aged Rugby Players
This study showed that when rugby players took creatine, their bodies made more of one hormone (DHT) compared to another (testosterone). But it doesn't prove creatine causes this in everyone — just in these 20 guys. It's like seeing your friend get taller after drinking milk — it might be connected, but we can't say milk makes everyone taller.
Analysis score
Maximum 90 for a randomized controlled trial.
Where the score came from
This study looked at whether taking creatine supplements changes the levels of two male hormones: testosterone and DHT.
Where does this study sit?
Reviews of RCTs (Meta-analyses)
Max 100Randomized Trials
Max 90Reviews of Cohort Studies
Max 85Cohort Studies
Max 72Reviews of Case-Control Studies
Max 63Case-Control Studies
Max 58Cross-Sectional & Case Series
Max 50Expert Opinion
Max 553 / 100
Quality score
Participants are randomly assigned to treatment or control groups, minimizing bias. The gold standard for testing whether an intervention causes an effect.
Key takeaways
Summary
Based on the study abstract and findings.
- 1Even though DHT increased, muscle size and body fat didn't change in just 3 weeks — so the hormone shift didn't quickly affect appearance or strength.
- 2After taking creatine, DHT went up by 56% at first, then stayed 40% higher; testosterone didn't change; the DHT-to-testosterone ratio stayed 22% higher for 14 days after the first week.
Score breakdown, methodology, conflicts of interest, evidence analysis & raw study data
Publication
Journal
Clinical Journal of Sport Medicine
Year
2009
Authors
J. van der Merwe, N. Brooks, K. Myburgh
Related Content
Claims (7)
Taking creatine at normal doses does not increase DHT levels or cause hair loss due to genetic sensitivity in healthy people.
Supplementing with creatine increases serum DHT levels, but this increase does not consistently lead to hair loss due to androgenetic alopecia.
Creatine supplementation increases the ratio of dihydrotestosterone to testosterone in healthy young male athletes, without changing total testosterone levels, indicating greater activity of the enzyme that converts testosterone to dihydrotestosterone.
Taking creatine for 21 days does not change lean mass or fat mass in college-aged rugby players, even though it increases the DHT:T hormone ratio.
In healthy college-aged male rugby players, a specific regimen of creatine monohydrate supplementation raises serum dihydrotestosterone levels by 56% after an initial loading phase and maintains a 40% increase during maintenance, while serum testosterone levels do not change, leading to a 22% sustained increase in the DHT-to-testosterone ratio.
In young male athletes taking 5 grams of creatine monohydrate daily for 14 days, the ratio of dihydrotestosterone to testosterone is 22% higher than before treatment.
Not medical advice. For informational purposes only. Always consult a qualified healthcare professional before making health decisions.