The Chinese version of the Short Cognitive Performance Test (SKT) – psychometric criteria and cross-validation

The new Chinese version of the SKT (Syndrom-Kurz-Test) Short Cognitive Performance Test aims to detect early cognitive impairment and is a promising addition to neuropsychological test batteries in China and suitable for Chinese speaking patients. This study has three aims: 1. to assess whether the SKT's diagnostic accuracy is comparable to established cognitive impairment tests (e.g. Addenbrooke´s cognitive examination-III (ACE-III) and Montreal Cognitive Assessment-Basic (MoCA-B)); 2. to examine whether the three tests show intra-individual differences according to different types of mild cognitive impairment (single-domain amnestic MCI, semantic MCI and multiple-domain amnestic MCI); 3. to determine whether these tests distinguish between individuals with no cognitive impairment and those with subjective cognitive decline (SCD). The validation sample included 1038 older adults (mean age = 70.04, SD = 6.05) from the Chinese Preclinical Alzheimer's Disease Study (C-PAS). Participants underwent cognitive testing and received consensus diagnoses of normal cognition, MCI, or dementia. Sensitivity and specificity were calculated for each test. ANOVAs examined differences between MCI subtypes, and t-tests assessed group differences between normal cognition and SCD. Results: The SKT showed the highest discrimination between normal cognition and cognitive impairment (MCI or dementia), with a sensitivity of 85.4% and specificity of 69.8%. All three tests demonstrated significant score differences across MCI subtypes. Additionally, all tests significantly distinguished individuals with SCD from those without cognitive impairment (p < 0.01). Conclusions: The new Chinese produced weaker results than the established tests. However, given its strengths, it could be a useful tool for identifying cognitive impairment in certain situations.