''We're really happy with the outcome,'' Associate Prof Rajesh Katare, of the physiology department, said.
Diabetes was an epidemic in New Zealand with more than 110,000 people diagnosed with type 2 diabetes and another 100,000 suspected undiagnosed.
The leading cause of death in diabetics was cardiovascular disease.
Diabetes led to the progressive loss of heart muscle cells, accelerating ageing of the heart and increasing the risk of heart attack.
But the reason for this increased risk was not previously known.
The insidious development of the disease also meant there was often very little time to diagnose and treat it.
The results of the world-leading study, just published in the journal Cell Death & Differentiation, identified the molecule, microRNA-34a, responsible for accelerating the ageing of the heart.
Understanding the reason for the increased risk would ''help in designing targeted therapies to reduce the risk of heart disease'' in diabetic individuals, Prof Katare said.
''Cardiologists have, until now, not been able to diagnose diabetic heart disease before it has developed.''
The discovery meant that, by monitoring the level of microRNA-34a in diabetic individuals, doctors could help identify those at risk of developing heart disease.
''This will allow GPs to either prescribe lifestyle modification or closely monitor those individuals who show changes.''
By therapeutically reducing the microRNA-34a levels in the heart muscle cells, they found diabetes-induced ageing was significantly reduced, thereby improving chances of survival.
Another key finding of the study was identifying, for the first time, increased microRNA-34a in stem cells isolated from diabetic heart tissue.
Researchers studied blood samples of type 2 diabetics who were otherwise completely healthy, and heart tissue from both diabetics and non-diabetics.
Blood samples from Christchurch and heart tissue from Dunedin and Otago heart by-pass patients were used.
The Otago study results showed significant elevation of the molecule levels in the blood samples.
Importantly, this elevation was observed even in the early stages of the disease.
Prof Katere was one of the study authors, and Ingrid Fomison-Nurse, of Otago, was the first author.
