PERCEIVED HEALTH STATUS AND SIDE-EFFECTS ASSOCIATED WITH CREATINE SUPPLEMENTATION DURING THE COLLEGIATE BASEBALL SEASON

During the 1990's the continued search by athletes of all ages for an effective and legal ergogenic aid has led them to the nutritional supplement, creatine. While safety and health concerns raised by various professional groups (i.e., medical, scientific, education, media) regarding the effects of creatine supplementation on markers of clinical status have recently surfaced, to date, no clinical study has reported any side effects from creatine supplementation other than weight gain. Although there is no scientific data to support these concerns, they have prompted many athletes and athletic organizations to reconsider whether to take or provide creatine to their athletes. Further, little is known about the athlete's perceptions regarding the effects of creatine supplementation. The purpose of this study was to determine the perceived health status and side effects associated with creatine supplementation during the regular collegiate baseball season. Thirty-nine Division I baseball players participated in this study completing a 17 item self-report Health Status/Side Effects Inventory (Kreider, 1994). Twenty-one (54%) of the thirty-nine athletes reported ingesting 20 to 30 g/d of creatine for 5/7-d followed by 5 to 10 g/d of creatine for the 10 weeks observed during the season. For the purpose of analysis, comparisons of athletes were made between creatine users and non-creatine users. An alpha level of .05 was used for determining significance. Results of the analysis using chi-square and Fisher's exact tests indicated no significant (p < .05) associations between creatine use of athletes and the seventeen self-report items on the Health Status/Side Effects Inventory over the 10-week data collection period. As the result of these findings, it was concluded that there are no perceived side effects or health status problems associated with creatine supplementation of Division IA baseball players during the competitive baseball season.