Effect of family caregiver nursing education on patients with rheumatoid arthritis and its impact factors: A randomized controlled trial

Table 2 Indicators of the intervention group and the control group (mean ± SD)

Indicators	IG, n = 80				CG, n = 78
	Baseline	1st mo	3rd mo	6th mo	Baseline	1st mo	3rd mo	6th mo
Inflammation level
CRP (mg/L)	17.74 ± 5.65	15.05 ± 4.51	10.83 ± 3.84	2.40 ± 2.00	18.25 ± 5.41	16.71 ± 4.42	15.13 ± 3.35	7.93 ± 2.77
ESR (mm/h)	35.61 ± 5.29	31.57 ± 4.81	28.03 ± 3.42	23.97 ± 3.14	35.36 ± 5.41	32.85 ± 4.58	29.81 ± 3.36	28.21 ± 2.82
TNF-α (pg/mL)	43.93 ± 9.04	38.22 ± 8.05	33.24 ± 7.98	29.61 ± 6.72	42.99 ± 10.15	41.01 ± 9.72	38.12 ± 9.14	35.56 ± 8.12
Disease activity
CDAI	19.97 ± 7.29	20.00 ± 7.25	13.90 ± 5.17	4.51 ± 1.94	20.04 ± 8.01	19.51 ± 7.95	17.94 ± 6.93	15.41 ± 5.26
SDAI	37.71 ± 8.67	35.06 ± 8.11	24.73 ± 5.99	6.91 ± 2.49	38.29 ± 8.78	36.22 ± 8.22	33.06 ± 7.03	23.34 ± 5.24
DAS28	4.94 ± 1.29	4.56 ± 1.00	4.02 ± 0.78	3.40 ± 1.00	4.89 ± 1.33	4.94 ± 1.29	4.50 ± 1.25	4.13 ± 0.93
HAQ	1.39 ± 0.64	1.04 ± 0.59	1.12 ± 0.65	0.36 ± 0.28	1.43 ± 0.70	1.24 ± 0.72	1.22 ± 0.66	0.91 ± 0.58
Mood disorder
SDS	57.31 ± 4.77	46.60 ± 5.67	37.63 ± 5.14	31.81 ± 9.82	58.45 ± 6.15	50.95 ± 6.09	51.62 ± 5.77	49.58 ± 6.13
SAS	54.43 ± 8.34	49.81 ± 7.52	40.60 ± 6.32	31.71 ± 8.84	53.21 ± 10.91	53.01 ± 10.84	49.22 ± 7.34	45.13 ± 9.39

IG: Intervention group; CG: Control group; CRP: C-reactive protein; ESR: Erythrocyte sedimentation rate; TNF-α: Tumor necrosis factor; SDAI: Simplified disease activity index; DAS28: Disease activity score with 28-joint count; CDAI: Clinical disease activity index; HAQ: Health assessment questionnaire; SDS: Self-rating depression scale; SAS: Self-rating anxiety scale.