Commission releases premature death data for Beijing

Four chronic diseases - cancer, cardiovascular, diabetes and chronic respiratory - topped the causes for premature deaths in Beijing, according to a report released by the Beijing Health and Family Planning Commission on Wednesday.

It was the first time a health department has released the premature mortality rate, defined as someone who dies before the age of 70.

"If a person dies at 40, he or she is considered to have lost 30 potential years of life," said Zheng Xiaopeng, an official at the Beijing Center for Disease Control and Prevention.