Development and validation of a short-form cognitive scale (SCS) for Chinese community-dwelling older adults

PURPOSE: The study aims to develop a Short-Form Cognitive Scale (SCS) for rapid in-person cognitive assessment among community-dwelling older adults in China. METHODS: In a cross-sectional study of 3259 community-dwelling adults aged ≥65 years in China, we developed and evaluated a 15-item SCS derived from the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE). Structural validity was assessed using exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses. Internal consistency was evaluated using Cronbach's α and McDonald's ω, and item-domain correlations were examined. RESULTS: The resulting SCS contained four factors of attention, orientation, registration, and delayed recall. All items showed adequate factor loadings (0.43-0.98), and item-domain correlations ranged from 0.52 to 0.96, supporting the proposed internal structure of the SCS. The scale demonstrated satisfactory internal consistency, with an overall Cronbach's α of 0.84, domain-specific Cronbach's α of 0.74-0.82, and domain-specific McDonald's ω of 0.80-0.89. CONCLUSION: The SCS is a brief cognitive assessment tool with evidence of structural validity and internal consistency. It may facilitate rapid cognitive screening in large-scale community surveys and health check-ups for older adults in China.