Life expectancy of Chinese intellectuals, including IT experts, is dwindling fast and is now only 58 years, about 10 years shorter than the national figure, mainly due to prolonged over-work.

The average life span of intellectuals working in Zhongguancun, dubbed as China's 'Silicon Valley' in Beijing is only 53.34 years, but 10 years ago, it was 58.52.

Karoshi, or death from prolonged overwork, is now the greatest danger haunting Chinese intellectuals nowadays.

In fact, quite a number of them have died of karoshi in China in the past few years, most of them being in their 30s to early 60s.

"I believe more than 70 per cent of intellectuals in China are faced with the danger of karoshi," Chinese media reports quoted Huang Jianshi, an expert from Beijing Union Medical College as saying. "Karoshi will be a danger to all the Chinese, if we keep on overdrawing our health," Huang said.

According to a survey by the Chinese Association of Clinical Laboratory Management, those who work in the IT industry and senior executives are the most prone to die of karoshi, with journalists, stock managers, insurance agents, taxi drivers, traffic police, sales persons, lawyers and teachers after them.

Many people of the 10 trades above also complain about their fast-paced life and heavy pressures, which have haunted them ever since they started their career. "It is sad to see that so many elites leave us in the prime of their age, when there is a much brighter future in store for them," the report commented.