Only one study I've ever seen on it:
Creatine supplementation may, in part, act through an increased rate of conversion of T to DHT. Further investigation is warranted as a result of the high frequency of individuals using creatine supplementation and the long-term safety of alterations in circulating androgen composition...
pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
From the paper:
Does creatine cause hair loss/baldness?
The vast majority of speculation regarding the relationship between creatine supplementation and hair loss/ baldness stems from a single study by van der Merwe et al. [61] where college-aged male rugby players who supplemented with creatine (25 g/day for 7 days, followed by 5 g/day thereafter for an additional 14 days) experienced an increase in serum dihydrotestosterone (DHT) concentrations over time.
Specifically, DHT increased by 56% after the seven-day loading period, and remained 40% above baseline values after the 14-day maintenance period. These results were statistically significant compared to when the subjects consumed a placebo (50 g of glucose per day for 7 days, followed by 30 g/day for 14 days thereafter). Given that changes in these hormones, particularly DHT, have been linked to some (but not all) occurrences of hair loss/baldness [62], the theory that creatine supplementation leads to hair loss/baldness gained some momentum and this potential link continues to be a common question/myth today.
It is important to note that the results of van der Merwe et al. [61] have not been replicated, and that intense resistance exercise itself can cause increases in these androgenic hormones.
DHT is a metabolite of testosterone, formed when the enzyme 5-alpha-reductase converts free testosterone to DHT [63]. In males, DHT can bind to androgen receptors in susceptible hair follicles and cause them to shrink, ultimately leading to hair loss [64].
However, in the van der Merwe et al. [61] study, no increase in total testosterone was found in the 16 males who completed the study. Free testosterone was not measured. Moreover, the increase in DHT and the DHT: testosterone ratio remained well within normal clinical limits. Furthermore, at baseline (prior to supplementation), DHT was 23% lower in the creatine group (0.98 nmol/L) compared to the placebo group (1.26 nmol/L). Thus the small increase in DHT in the creatine group (+ 0.55 nmol/L after 7 days of supplementation and + 0.40 nmol/L after 21 days of supplementation), in combination with a small decrease in the placebo DHT response (-0.17 nmol/L after 7 days of supplementation and -0.20 nmol/L after 21 days of supplementation) explains the “statistically significant” increase in DHT noted by van der Merwe et al. [61]. While it is possible that creatine supplementation upregulated 5- alpha-reductase activity in these males (potentially leading to increased formation of DHT), no study has reported hair loss/baldness in humans.
To date, 12 other studies have investigated the effects of creatine supplementation (i.e. doses ranging from 3-25 g/ day for 6 days to 12 weeks) on testosterone. Two studies reported small, physiologically insignificant increases in total testosterone after six and seven days of supplementation [65, 66], while the remaining ten studies reported no change in testosterone concentrations.
In five of these studies [67– 71], free testosterone, which the body uses to produce DHT, was also measured and no increases were found.
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