Eh, the increase in people on disability may suggest something else: We are better at keeping people alive in the face of things that previously would have killed them, but that doesn&#x27;t mean we are necessarily able to keep them able-bodied or restore full functioning.<p>Also, people can be doing things for reasons in categories not offered in the study. I am homeless and &quot;unemployed&quot; and not looking for a normal job. I do freelance work, get alimony and I am still working on developing my web projects, with dreams of that leading to a more comfortable future. I likely would not bother to tell that to anyone in a study, both because there probably is no category for that and because I get told a great deal that it is unrealistic, wishful thinking, etc. I have no reason to invite that kind of dismissive criticism from someone doing a study, assuming there is even a plave to talk about it. And even if I did, it would get lumped into the catch all category of &quot;other.&quot; Yay.