New research has cast doubt on the presumed link between hep C and diabetes. Researchers analyzed population-based data on 15,000 adults participating in a national health survey between 1999 and 2010 and found that hep C status was not correlated to the prevalence of diabetes or pre-diabetes. There was also no apparent link between insulin resistance and hep C in those with normal glucose levels. The older papers that found a link between diabetes and hep C are arguably weaker because they were not built on population-based research. The authors behind the new study speculate that the supposed link between hep C and diabetes found in the more dated research may have been a consequence of elevated liver enzymes as opposed to the virus.