Norfolk Arthritis Register
The Norfolk Arthritis Register (NOAR) is a large community based, long term observational study investigating the cause and outcome of inflammatory polyarthritis (inflammation and swelling of the joints). NOAR is sponsored by the University of East Anglia (UEA) in collaboration with the University of Manchester, working closely with the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital NHS Foundation Trust.
The study recruits people who have developed inflammatory arthritis whilst living in Norfolk, and who are willing to take part in research. The purpose of the Register is to study the natural history of arthritis and to identify genetic and non-genetic factors which may be related to the onset of arthritis, response to treatment, and to long-term outcomes.
The study commenced recruitment in 1989 and has recruited over 5,000 incident cases. NOAR continues to recruit and follow up people who develop Inflammatory Polyarthritis (IP).
The study is being funded by a programme grant from Versus Arthritis. In 2013, the Versus Arthritis Centre of Excellence in Epidemiology was jointly awarded to the University of Manchester and the University of East Anglia, recognising the strengths and potential for musculoskeletal epidemiology research across the two institutions.
