DIMER
The DIMER study, a sub-study of the national Primary Immunodeficiencies (PID) study, focuses on children aged six weeks to ten years who experience recurrent respiratory tract infections presenting to a Dutch academic hospital. Additionally, family members and healthcare workers serve as controls in the study.
The primary objective of the DIMER study is to investigate the mucosal immune system, examining differences in mucosal antibody levels and the composition of the nasopharyngeal microbiota in children with recurrent respiratory tract infections compared to healthy controls. The study comprises both cross-sectional and prospective cohorts. The latter enables a comprehensive assessment of respiratory tract infection severity, incorporating daily diaries and extensive sampling protocols.
The DIMER team
Principal investigator and primary affiliation
Dr. Lilly Verhagen
(Radboudumc, Nijmegen, The Netherlands)
Wilhelmina Children’s Hospital, UMC Utrecht, Utrecht
Dr. Marianne Boes
Dr. Joris van Montfrans
Prof. Debby Bogaert
Dr. Wouter de Steenhuijsen Piters
Dr. Sabine Prevaes
Drs. Martine van Engelen
Dayana Martins Gueth
Mei Ling Chu
Kayleigh Arp
Raïza Hasrat
Sophia Children’s Hospital, Erasmus MC University Medical Center, Rotterdam
Dr. Wendy Unger
Prof. Annemarie van Rossum
Dr. Ruben de Groot
Department of Research & Development, GD Animal Health, Deventer, The Netherlands
Dr. Erhard van der Vries
National Institute of Public Health and the Environment, Bilthoven, The Netherlands
Prof. Elisabeth Sanders
Related publications
- MH Koenen, RCA de Groot, WAA de Steenhuijsen-Piters, MJLN Chu, K Arp, R Hasrat, ACJM de Bruijn, SC Estevao, E van der Vries, JD Langereis, M Boes, D Bogaert, AMC van Rossum, WWJ Unger, LM Verhagen. Mycoplasma pneumoniae carriage in children with recurrent respiratory tract infections is associated with a less diverse and altered microbiota. EBioMedicine 2023;98:104868.
- MH Koenen, JM van Montfrans, SMPJ Prevaes, MP van Engelen, E van der Vries, M Boes, EAM Sanders, D Bogaert, LM Verhagen. Antibody deficiencies in children are associated with prematurity and a family history of infections. Pediatr Res 2023;94:2047-53.
- MH Koenen, WAA de Steenhuijsen Piters, D Bogaert, LM Verhagen. The microbiota in respiratory tract infections: from association to intervention. Current opinion in infectious diseases 2022;35:215-22.
- HM Kansen, MA Lebbink, J Mul, FC van Erp, M van Engelen, E de Vries, SMPJ Prevaes, T My Le, CK van der Ent, LM Verhagen. Risk factors for atopic diseases and recurrent respiratory tract infections in children. Pediatr Pulmonol 2020; 2020;55:3168-79.
- MH Koenen, JM van Montfrans, EAM Sanders, D Bogaert, LM Verhagen. Immunoglobulin A deficiency in children: an undervalued clinical issue. Clin Immunol 2019; 209: 108293. 4,13
Project funding
