Middle aged men were given an official public warning yesterday - remaining unmarried and living alone is hazardous to health and increases the risk of premature death.
A study by the office for national statistics found men living alone after the age of 45 were 50% more likely to die prematurely and significantly more susceptible to long term illnesses such as diabetes and rheumatism affecting the quality of life.
The statisticians found 30% of those living alone at the time of the 1981 census reported a limiting long term illness by the time of the 1991 census. This compared with 21% of those in bigger households.
After checking the social and economic status of the singleton males, the ONS concluded that by far the most important variable affecting their diminished health was the lack of a wife.
Setting aside the influences of class, unemployment and geographic environment, it found men who were married and then divorced had a 30% increased mortality risk within the first 10 years of divorce.
Men who were married and then widowed had a 20% increased mortality risk in the first 10 years after bereavement. Remaining single throughout carried a 23% increased risk.
"Being married is generally associated with better health than being unmarried," said the report by Angela Donkin, research officer at ONS.
This was partly due to positive effects of marriage, including greater financial and material resources, better social support and healthier lifestyles.
But there might also be a "selection effect" caused by the reduced marriageability and increased probability of divorce among men in poor health.
The report noted a rapid expansion in the number of people living alone in England and Wales, rising from 18% of households in 1971 to 28.5% last year. By 2021 the number of one person households is expected to reach 8.5m.
Adrian Rogers, GP of the pressure group Family Focus, said: "A long term permanent relationship with one person where you actually get on and enjoy it is good for you. On that basis a happy marriage is definitely good for you."
Robert Whelan, director of Family and Youth Concern, said: "Marriage is very good for your health, particularly if you are a man."
The findings came yesterday in a quarterly report from ONS also showing a sharp reduction in cot deaths. The number of sudden infant deaths in England and Wales fell last year by 13% to 243.
Joyce Epstein, director of the Foundation for the Study of Infant Deaths, said: "Ten years ago, before the Reduce the Risk campaign, 22 babies were dying every week in the UK. Thankfully, there are now 70% fewer tragedies because the advice on how to protect babies from cot death has made such a real difference."
The figures showed babies born outside marriage were six times more likely to die from cot death than those born to married parents. Cot death was also higher among babies of mothers aged under 20 and those with lower birth weights.
There were 604,441 live births in England and Wales last year - 2.8% down on 1999. There were 3,399 deaths of children under the age of one, producing an infant mortality rate of 5.6 deaths per thousand live births, the lowest ever recorded.
The health authorities with the highest infant and perinatal mortality rates last year were Bradford, Wakefield, Manchester, Birmingham and east Lancashire. The areas with the lowest rates were Kingston and Richmond in west London, north Wales, Oxfordshire, West Sussex and west Hertfordshire.
The population of England and Wales at mid-2000 was 52,943,300, an increase of 253,400 (0.5%) on mid-1999.