No link found between diabetes and vitamin D, according to study

Despite previous studies pointing at the potential health benefits for diabetics of taking vitamin D, as well as for treating conditions such as heart disease, asthma, some cancers and depression, new research from the US has found that small amounts of vitamin D does not mean older women are at a higher risk of getting type 2 diabetes .
The new study, published in the journal Diabetes Care, reviewed 5,140 women involved in the Women’s Health Initiative, a government project focused on the health effects of hormone therapy, diet changes, and vitamin D and calcium supplements on women of the age 50 or older. It didn’t find any evidence that vitamin D offered health benefits apart from helping to build and maintain strong bones.
Of the patients who did not have type 2 diabetes at the start of the study, 6 per cent developed the condition over an average of seven years, with no clear link being found between the blood levels of vitamin D at the outset and their risk of developing type 2 diabetes later on.
The older studies were observational, in that they examined people’s intake of vitamin D, or the amount of the vitamin in the blood, which does not really provide the answers to whether vitamin D a factor in a reduction of disease risk . Jennifer G. Robinso, lead researcher on the new study, commented “You can’t make dietary recommendations based on observational studies.”