Background and Objective: Sarcopenia is an age-related muscle dysfunction characterized by a decrease in skeletal muscle mass, strength, and physical ability, and has emerged as a major public health concern, especially among the elderly. Given the lack of a native or translated instrument to assess sarcopenia risk perception in the Iranian elderly population and the cultural-linguistic differences affecting risk perception, translation and psychometric testing of this specific instrument for use in Iran seems necessary. Therefore, the study aimed to translate and psychometrically test the Persian version of the Sarcopenia Risk Perception Assessment among the Iranian elderly.

Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted in Babol city in 1404 on 400 elderly (60 years and older) who were selected using a convenience sampling method based on inclusion criteria. Using a forward-backward translation method, the face and content validity of the SDRPS-OA was assessed through qualitative and quantitative methods. After face and content validity, exploratory factor analysis (n=200) and confirmatory factor analysis (n=200) were conducted to determine the construct validity. To determine the reliability, internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha coefficient and McDonald's omega coefficient) and stability (intragroup correlation coefficient) were estimated.

Results: Exploratory factor analysis confirmed the two-factor structure including perceived sensitivity and perceived severity. The factor loadings of the items ranged from 0.598 to 0.830, and the two extracted factors were able to explain a total of 53.08% of the total variance. Confirmatory factor analysis also confirmed the 15-item two-dimensional model with good fit indices of CFI = 0.949, RMSEA = 0.075. Reliability coefficients indicated strong internal consistency (α = 0.85), temporal stability, and desirable construct validity.

Conclusion: The findings of this study confirm that the Persian version of the SDRPS-OA is a valid and reliable tool for assessing sarcopenia risk perception among the elderly. This tool has high potential for use in initial screening by nurses and other healthcare professionals in clinical and research settings and can help identify care needs and design precise interventions; interventions that ultimately lead to improving the quality of life of the elderly and improving health services.

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