Pattern of findings 'should ring alarm bells'

Pattern of findings 'should ring alarm bells'

The first study was conducted by researchers from the US, UK and Europe. The team analyzed data from observational studies and clinical trials that looked at health outcomes linked to vitamin D levels.

The data included trials that looked at vitamin D levels as a result of both naturally occurring vitamin D and supplements.

Although the researchers identified 137 different health outcomes associated with vitamin D levels, they found that only 10 of these outcomes had been comprehensively tested in trials, and only one outcome - that an infant's birth weight is linked to a mother's vitamin D levels in late pregnancy - had enough evidence to deem it a "benefit."

Researchers say that contrary to previous research, there is no evidence that vitamin D supplements help prevent osteoporosis.

In an editorial linked to the studies, Naveed Sattar and Paul Welsh of the British Heart Foundation Research Centre in the UK say this pattern of findings "should ring alarm bells."

They note that other studies have shown that supplements of other vitamins, such as C and E, may have potentially harmful effects on health outcomes when intake is increased.

"This highlights the often underestimated problems of confounding and reverse causality that can lead to premature causal inferences in observational studies," they add.

In addition, the research team found no evidence that vitamin D supplementation had any benefits for osteoporosis or helped prevent falls - a finding that contradicts previous research. The investigators say this suggests that the vitamin "might not be as essential as previously thought in maintaining bone mineral density."Wholesale Swimwear Wholesale Corsets