Converting an odds ratio to a range of plausible relative risks for better communication of research findingsOdds ratios are a necessary evil in medical research; although used as a measure of effect size from logistic regressions and case-control studies, they are poorly understood. This paper provides practical advice for authors and readers on converting odds ratios to relative risks

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Chronic hip and knee pain affects all domains of people's lives. People's beliefs about chronic pain shape their attitudes and behaviours about how to manage their pain. People are confused about the cause of their pain, and bewildered by its variability and randomness. Without adequate information and advice from healthcare professionals, people do not know what they should and should not do, and, as a consequence, avoid activity for fear of causing harm. Participation in exercise programmes may slightly improve physical function, depression and pain. It may slightly improve self-efficacy and social function, although there is probably little or no difference in anxiety. Providing reassurance and clear advice about the value of exercise in controlling symptoms, and opportunities to participate in exercise programmes that people regard as enjoyable and relevant, may encourage greater exercise participation, which brings a range of health benefits to a large population of people.

Promoting quality of life in older age is an internationally recognised priority, requiring valid measurement. We present a short version of the established Older People's Quality of Life questionnaire (OPQOL-brief). The full OPQOL-35 was original in being developed from the perspectives of older people, assessed conceptually, and validated with a population sample using gold-standard psychometric assessment. The OPQOL-brief was also developed by asking older people to prioritise the most important items from the OPQOL-35, next assessed psychometrically with a population sample, and also statistically against the discarded 22 items. The aim was to assess the properties of the short, 13-item version of the OPQOL (OPQOL-brief), and to compare the performance of included and discarded items. The method was a national population survey of people aged 65+ living at home. The psychometric rigour of the OPQOL-brief was tested through assessments of reliability, validity and factor structure. The measures were OPQOL-brief, WHOQOL-QOL and CASP-19.The OPQOL-brief was found to be a highly reliable and valid, short measure of quality of life in older age. The OPQOL-brief is of value in assessment of interventions where a rigorously tested, short measure is required. The grounded development of the instrument is consistent with international policy emphasis on user involvement in shaping policy and research. Dear EditorWe would be grateful if you would consider our paper for publication online in AGG.We regard it as an important contribution to research in geriatrics and in gerontology as it provides the information on the properties of a short quality of life measures, developed bottom-up with older people.The longer version has been published and is used internationally (Bowling 2009;Bowling and Stenner 2011). A short, robust, relevant measure of older people's quality of life has long been needed in evaluative research.We look forward to hearing from you in due course. Yours, Prof Ann BowlingCover Letter 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 3 AbstractPromoting quality of life in older age is an internationally recognised priority, requiring valid measurement. We present a short version of the established Older People"s Quality of Life questionnaire (OPQOL-brief). The full OPQOL-35 was original in being developed from t...