Pediatric Respiratory Epidemiology Group

Group leader: Prof. Dr. med. Claudia Kuehni

The Paediatric Respiratory Epidemiology Group studies the epidemiology of frequent and rare respiratory disorders during childhood and over the life course. Main areas of interest are asthma and other wheezing disorders, chronic cough, and primary ciliary dyskinesia (PCD).

We conduct population-based and clinical cohort studies (Swiss Paediatric Airway Cohort, Living with PCD, and the ENT Prospective International PCD cohort) and manage national databases and registries, such as the Swiss Primary Ciliary Dyskinesia Registry and the Swiss database of neonatal screening for cystic fibrosis. We also participate in collaborative national and international studies, such as the Bern Basel Infant Lung Development (BILD) cohort and the BEAT-PCD clinical research collaboration of the European Respiratory Society.

Research topics include the public health impact of respiratory disease, the role of behavioural and environmental influences on the development of respiratory disorders, disease phenotype definition, prediction of clinical course and long-term outcomes, and healthcare research. We also perform national physician surveys to better understand the diagnosis and treatment of respiratory diseases and conduct participating research together with people affected by respiratory diseases.

Group members

Group leader

Group members

Completed projects

European Respiratory Society/American Thoracic Society Taskforce for the diagnosis of PCD (2023-2025)

Myrofora Goutaki

This joint taskforce of the European Respiratory Society (ERS) and the American Thoracic Society (ATS) developed an international clinical practice guideline for the diagnosis of children and adults with PCD.

LuftiBus in the school (LUIS)

Claudia Kuehni, Rebeca Mozun, Myrofora Goutaki, Lorenz Leuenberger

LUIS was a cross-sectional and school-based study on the respiratory health of 6 to 17-year-old children in collaboration with the Children’s hospital in Zurich and Bern. A bus with equipment for lung function testing visited numerous schools across the whole canton of Zurich, Switzerland, in 2013-16. The study collected information from questionnaires to parents and children on upper and lower respiratory symptoms, asthma diagnosis and treatment, and lifestyle characteristics like smoking, and measured weight and height, lung function, and airway inflammation in children. The project was funded by Lunge Zürich.

International Primary Ciliary Dyskinesia (iPCD) Cohort

Claudia Kuehni, Myrofora Goutaki, Florian Halbeisen, Elisabeth Maurer

The iPCD Cohort was established under the framework of the European Union’s Seventh Framework Program (EU FP7) project BESTCILIA (Better Experimental Screening and Treatment for Primary Ciliary Dyskinesia-/2012-2016) and further developed in the BEAT-PCD COST Action (BM1407). It aimed to identify and assemble all available datasets with clinical and diagnostic data from PCD patients worldwide in order to answer questions on clinical phenotype, disease severity, prognosis, and effect of treatments in patients with this rare multiorgan disease. It is an international cohort with retrospective and prospective design, combining available data from national and local registries and clinical or diagnostic databases. The project was funded by the EU and the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNF 320030B_192804)

European Respiratory Society Taskforce for the diagnosis of asthma in children aged 5 to 16 years

Claudia Kuehni, Myrofora Goutaki, Rebeca Mozun, Carmen de Jong

This taskforce of the European Respiratory Society (ERS) developed and published a clinical practice guideline to improve the diagnosis of asthma in school-aged children.

European Respiratory Society Taskforce: Diagnosis of primary ciliary dyskinesia (PCD) in the molecular age: a practice guideline for diagnosing patients with PCD

Claudia Kuehni, Myrofora Goutaki

This taskforce of the European Respiratory Society (ERS) developed a clinical practice guideline to improve the diagnosis of PCD.

Defining phenotypes and risk factors of chronic non-specific cough in childhood

Claudia Kuehni, Maja Jurca, Ben Spycher, Myrofora Goutaki

This PhD project focused on the epidemiology of chronic and recurrent cough in childhood by analysing original data from the Leicester respiratory cohorts and the BILD cohort, and by summarising the current evidence in systematic reviews. The project was funded by the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNF PDFMP3_137033).

Breastfeeding and respiratory outcomes from infancy to school-age: pathways and temporal sequence

Claudia Kuehni, Jingying Wang, Myrofora Goutaki

This SNF-funded project investigated the association between breastfeeding and respiratory outcomes from infancy to school age by performing systematic reviews and analysing original data from the Leicester respiratory cohorts, the Swiss BILD cohort and international cohort studies. The project was funded by the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNF 32003B_144068).

Predicting onset and persistence of wheeze in children

Claudia Kuehni, Aniña Pescatore, Ben Spycher

More information

Alveolar growth and development in childhood measured by helium-3 magnetic resonance

Claudia Kuehni

More information

Primary Ciliary Dyskinesia in Children: a European survey

Claudia Kuehni, Marie Pierre Strippoli, Elisabeth Maurer

 

Please note that only members of the ISPM Bern staff (past and present) are listed.