Evaluation of Prevalence and Risk Factors of Possible Sarcopenia Based on SARC-F in Adults Over 60 in Tegucigalpa, Honduras: A Cross-Sectional Study.

Background and Aims: Sarcopenia, a progressive loss of skeletal muscle mass and function, poses a growing public health challenge in low and middle-income settings. We aimed to quantify its prevalence and identify sex-specific risk factors among older adults attending a public outpatient clinic in Tegucigalpa, Honduras. Methods: In a hospital-based, age-stratified random sample, we enrolled 100 participants (73 women and 27 men; mean age = 69.7 ± 6.9 years) during July 2024. Possible sarcopenia and frailty were assessed using SARC-F and FRAIL questionnaires, respectively. Body mass index was calculated under standardized conditions and mean arterial pressure (MAP) was derived from blood pressure measurements. Normality of continuous variables was evaluated with the Shapiro-Wilk test. Between-sex differences were analyzed using Welch's t-test for continuous variables and χ 2 test for categorical variables (α = 0.05). Pearson's correlation was employed to assess associations between SARC-F scores and clinical variables. Results: Possible sarcopenia (SARC‑F ≥ 4) was present in 48% of participants (95% CI = 38-58), while 40% met criteria for frailty. Women showed a significantly higher mean BMI than men (28.0 ± 5.7 kg m-2 vs. 24.9 ± 4.5 kg m-2; t = 2.8, p = 0.007) yet a comparable MAP (102 ± 13 mmHg vs. 99 ± 13 mmHg; p = 0.33). Frailty prevalence remained higher in women across all age strata (42.5% vs. 37.0%), although the sex difference was not statistically significant (χ 2 = 0.2, p = 0.9). SARC‑F scores correlated modestly with MAP (r = 0.3, p = 0.003) but not with age (r = 0.1, p = 0.3) or BMI (r = 0.1, p = 0.4). Conclusions: Nearly half of older adults were at risk of sarcopenia and two-fifths were frail, with women more affected. Elevated blood pressure was linked to functional decline.