Video Gaming Reduces Circulating Creatine Levels in Young Male E-Gamers

Background: No studies so far assessed whether acute video gaming affects creatine metabolism, a metabolic pathway critical in replen-ishing immediate energy for cells and tissues with high and intermit-tent energy fluctuations. In this study, we explored whether a single session of prolonged video gaming alters circulating biomarkers of creatine metabolism in young male e-gamers.Methods: A total of 12 young men (age 25.6 +/- 3.8 years) signed an informed consent to volunteer in this quasi-experimental before-after pilot trial. Each participant took part in a single 6-h session of com-petitive online ranked matches in a popular tactical first-person shoot-ing game.Results: A 6-h video gaming session resulted in a statistically signifi-cant drop in serum creatine levels (from 27.6 +/- 7.5 mu mol/L at baseline to 22.9 +/- 8.3 mu mol/L at follow-up; P = 0.029). The mean reduction in serum creatine was 4.70 mu mol/L (95% confidence interval (CI): -2.3 to 11.7), with a moderate-to-large effect size (d = 0.59). Serum creati-nine concentrations tended to drop after the gaming session from 88.1 +/- 15.5 to 78.2 +/- 19.8 mu mol/L (P = 0.077).Conclusion: Our findings indicate that creatine homeostasis is sensi-tive to video gaming perhaps owing to more creatine from the cir-culation utilized as an energy source for active tissues, including the brain.