The average daily cost of a private room in a nursing home was about $229 a day or nearly $7,000 a month in 2010, according to government estimates. But what are the average American’s chances of needing a nursing home in their lifetime?

A lot higher than previously estimated, says a recent study published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Among people aged 57 to 61, about 56 percent will stay in a nursing home at least one night during their lifetime — compared to earlier estimates that ranged from 35 to 45 percent but that used different methods and data than the recent study, which was conducted by the nonprofit RAND Corporation.