The proportion of single person households is increasing with population ageing. At older ages living in a single person household is more likely to be due to bereavement or separation than at younger ages. We examine the association between marital status and the likelihood and the length of hospitalisations, with particular emphasis on whether and how this association varies by different types of hospitalisations with a distinct nature of care. Using a large survey linked to multiple years of detailed administrative records enables us to better control for individual heterogeneity and allows us to conduct a finer classification of hospitalisations. A two-part model is used for estimation. We also investigate the relationship between marital status and the presentations to emergency department. The results show singles have an increased probability of hospitalisation and length of stay, with a substantial heterogeneity revealed in the association between marital status and different types of hospitalisations. The findings are consistent with the lesser availability of informal care for those being single and point to the need to develop appropriate and targeted strategies to reduce hospitalisation in this group.

中文翻译：

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老年人的婚姻状况和住院情况

随着人口老龄化，单身家庭的比例正在增加。与年轻人相比，住在单身家庭中的老年人更有可能因为丧亲之痛或分居。我们检查了婚姻状况与住院的可能性和时间长短之间的关联，特别强调这种关联是否以及如何因具有不同护理性质的不同类型的住院而变化。使用与多年详细行政记录相关的大型调查使我们能够更好地控制个体异质性，并使我们能够对住院进行更精细的分类。两部分模型用于估计。我们还调查了婚姻状况与急诊科就诊之间的关系。结果表明，单身人士住院的可能性和住院时间更长，婚姻状况与不同类型住院之间的关联显示出很大的异质性。调查结果与单身人士较少获得非正式护理的情况一致，并指出需要制定适当且有针对性的策略来减少该群体的住院治疗。