When people develop diabetes early in life they may also be more likely to experience heart problems in middle age, a study suggests.

Cardiovascular disease has long been linked to diabetes in older adults. The new study, however, offers fresh evidence that getting diabetes as a younger adult may exacerbate or accelerate the erosion of heart function as people age.

"Diabetes is toxic to the heart since it affects many important components of the machinery," said Dr. Genevieve Derumeaux, a researcher at Henri Mondor Hospital in Creteil, France and author of an editorial accompanying the study.

In particular, diabetes can damage the left ventricle, the bottom left chamber of the heart responsible for pushing oxygen-rich blood out into the circulatory system, Derumeaux said. Over time, diabetes can make it harder for the chamber to fill with blood and pump blood out into the body.