Meng Chen, MD

All Publications

• Social Determinants of Health and Allergic Disease Prevalence Among Asian American Children. Journal of racial and ethnic health disparities Le, A., Bui, V., Chu, R., Arroyo, A. C., Chen, M., Bacong, A. M. 2024

  Abstract

  Although racial and ethnic disparities in allergic diseases have previously been observed, the relationship between social determinants of health (SDoH) and allergic disease prevalence among disaggregated Asian American (AsA) subgroups is poorly understood.To examine the association of SDoH with allergic disease prevalence among disaggregated AsA subgroups.Using the 2011-2018 National Health Interview Survey, we examined caregiver-reported race and ethnicity, SDoH, and allergic diseases. We compared survey-weighted allergic disease prevalence by AsA subgroup. Subgroup-stratified multivariable logistic regression accounting for age, sex, child/parent nativity, and survey year modeled the association between SDoH and allergic disease prevalence. We provide predicted probabilities of having each allergic disease based on exposure to each SDoH.We examined data from 5042 non-Hispanic AsA children representing 3,264,768 AsA children. Approximately 25% of all AsA children reported at least one allergic disease, ranging from 20% of Asian Indian children to 30% of Filipino/a children. The number of unfavorable SDoH was lowest among Asian Indian and Chinese children (mean 0.7) and highest among "other Asian" children (mean 1.2). In stratified analyses, financial instability and inaccessible healthcare were associated with greater probability of allergic diseases among some, but not all AsA subgroups. Lower parent education level, food insecurity, and rent/other housing arrangement were associated with lower probability of allergic disease among some AsA children.There was heterogeneity in the association of SDoH and allergic disease prevalence among AsA children. Further study of SDoH may inform modifiable environmental factors for allergic disease among AsA children.

  View details for DOI 10.1007/s40615-024-01918-0

  View details for PubMedID 38315290

  View details for PubMedCentralID 9901425

• Asthma heterogeneity amongst Asian American children: the California Health Interview Survey. Annals of allergy, asthma & immunology : official publication of the American College of Allergy, Asthma, & Immunology Chen, M., Bacong, A. M., Feng, C., Kikuta, N. T., Datir, R. R., Chen, S., Srinivasan, M., Camargo, C. A., Palaniappan, L., Arroyo, A. C. 2023

  Abstract

  The Asian American (AsA) population is heterogenous and rapidly growing; however, little is known regarding childhood asthma burden amongst AsA ethnic groups. The relation of obesity and asthma among AsA ethnic groups also remains unclear.To evaluate asthma prevalence and the relation of obesity to asthma risk amongst children in seven AsA ethnic groups.We analyzed data from the California Health Interview Survey from 2011-2020. AsA ethnicities were self-reported. Body mass index (BMI) z-scores, calculated from self-reported height/weight, were used to categorize children by obesity status, based on BMI-for-age growth charts. Prevalence of self-reported lifetime doctor-diagnosed asthma and asthma attack in the last 12 months were calculated. We performed multivariable logistic regressions adjusting for age and sex.Of 34,146 survey respondents, 12.2% Non-Hispanic White (NHW) and 12.5% AsA children reported lifetime asthma. Among AsA ethnic groups, however, lifetime asthma ranged from 5.1% (Korean American) to 21.5% (Filipino American). Compared to NHW children, AsA children had a similar lifetime asthma prevalence (aOR=1.05; 95%CI: 0.71-1.55; p=0.81), but lower prevalence in Korean American children (aOR 0.37; 95%CI, 0.19-0.73; p=0.004) and higher prevalence in Filipino American children (aOR 1.97; 95%CI, 1.22-3.17; p=0.006). The lifetime asthma prevalence of different AsA ethnic groups persisted even when stratified by obesity status.Childhood lifetime asthma prevalence varied among AsA ethnic groups, with lowest prevalence among Korean American children and highest prevalence among Filipino American. Further characterization of asthma burden amongst AsA ethnic groups may help guide asthma screening and prevention measures and offer new insights into asthma pathogenesis.

  View details for DOI 10.1016/j.anai.2023.10.030

  View details for PubMedID 37949352

• Artificial Intelligence: Exploring the Future of Innovation in Allergy Immunology. Current allergy and asthma reports MacMath, D., Chen, M., Khoury, P. 2023

  Abstract

  Artificial intelligence (AI) has increasingly been used in healthcare. Given the capacity of AI to handle large data and complex relationships between variables, AI is well suited for applications in healthcare. Recently, AI has been applied to allergy research.In this article, we review how AI technologies have been utilized in basic science and clinical allergy research for asthma, atopic dermatitis, rhinology, adverse reactions to drugs and vaccines, food allergy, anaphylaxis, urticaria, and eosinophilic gastrointestinal disorders. We discuss barriers for AI adoption to improve the care of patients with atopic diseases. These studies demonstrate the utility of applying AI to the field of allergy to help investigators expand their understanding of disease pathogenesis, improve diagnostic accuracy, enable prediction for treatments and outcomes, and for drug discovery.

  View details for DOI 10.1007/s11882-023-01084-z

  View details for PubMedID 37160554

  View details for PubMedCentralID 6994109

• Asthma heterogeneity amongst Asian American children: the California Health Interview Survey Chen, M., Bacong, A., Kikuta, N., Datir, R., Chen, S., Camargo, C., Srinivasan, M., Palaniappan, L., Arroyo, A. MOSBY-ELSEVIER. 2023: AB75

  View details for Web of Science ID 000991651900228

• Asian American Patients With Allergic Diseases: Considerations for Research and Clinical Care. The journal of allergy and clinical immunology. In practice Chen, M., Feng, C., Liu, A. Y., Zhu, L., Camargo, C. A., Arroyo, A. C. 2022; 10 (4): 950-952

  View details for DOI 10.1016/j.jaip.2022.01.031

  View details for PubMedID 35397816

• Increased duration of pollen and mold exposure are linked to climate change. Scientific reports Paudel, B., Chu, T., Chen, M., Sampath, V., Prunicki, M., Nadeau, K. C. 2021; 11 (1): 12816

  Abstract

  Pollen and molds are environmental allergens that are affected by climate change. As pollen and molds exhibit geographical variations, we sought to understand the impact of climate change (temperature, carbon dioxide (CO2), precipitation, smoke exposure) on common pollen and molds in the San Francisco Bay Area, one of the largest urban areas in the United States. When using time-series regression models between 2002 and 2019, the annual average number of weeks with pollen concentrations higher than zero increased over time. For tree pollens, the average increase in this duration was 0.47weeks and 0.51weeks for mold spores. Associations between mold, pollen and meteorological data (e.g., precipitation, temperature, atmospheric CO2, and area covered by wildfire smoke) were analyzed using the autoregressive integrated moving average model. We found that peak concentrations of weed and tree pollens were positively associated with temperature (p<0.05 at lag 0-1, 0-4, and 0-12weeks) and precipitation (p<0.05 at lag 0-4, 0-12, and 0-24weeks) changes, respectively. We did not find clear associations between pollen concentrations and CO2 levels or wildfire smoke exposure. This study's findings suggest that spore and pollen activities are related to changes in observed climate change variables.

  View details for DOI 10.1038/s41598-021-92178-z

  View details for PubMedID 34140579

• Homologies between SARS-CoV-2 and allergen proteins may direct T cell-mediated heterologous immune responses. Scientific reports Balz, K., Kaushik, A., Chen, M., Cemic, F., Heger, V., Renz, H., Nadeau, K., Skevaki, C. 2021; 11 (1): 4792

  Abstract

  The outbreak of the new severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) is a public health emergency. Asthma does not represent a risk factor for COVID-19 in several published cohorts. We hypothesized that the SARS-CoV-2 proteome contains T cell epitopes, which are potentially cross-reactive to allergen epitopes. We aimed at identifying homologous peptide sequences by means of two distinct complementary bioinformatics approaches. Pipeline 1 included prediction of MHC Class I and Class II epitopes contained in the SARS-CoV-2 proteome and allergens along with alignment and elaborate ranking approaches. Pipeline 2 involved alignment of SARS-CoV-2 overlapping peptides with known allergen-derived T cell epitopes. Our results indicate a large number of MHC Class I epitope pairs including known as well as de novo predicted allergen T cell epitopes with high probability for cross-reactivity. Allergen sources, such as Aspergillus fumigatus, Phleum pratense and Dermatophagoides species are of particular interest due to their association with multiple cross-reactive candidate peptides, independently of the applied bioinformatic approach. In contrast, peptides derived from food allergens, as well as MHC class II epitopes did not achieve high in silico ranking and were therefore not further investigated. Our findings warrant further experimental confirmation along with examination of the functional importance of such cross-reactive responses.

  View details for DOI 10.1038/s41598-021-84320-8

  View details for PubMedID 33637823

• Radiation Recall Dermatitis Triggered by Prednisone CUTIS Galant-Swafford, J., Chen, M., Christiansen, S. C. 2020; 105 (6): E16-E18

  View details for Web of Science ID 000641138200004

• Oral immunotherapy for peanut allergy: The pro argument. The World Allergy Organization journal Chinthrajah, R. S., Cao, S. n., Dunham, T. n., Sampath, V. n., Chandra, S. n., Chen, M. n., Sindher, S. n., Nadeau, K. n. 2020; 13 (8): 100455

  Abstract

  Food allergy (FA) is a growing public health problem with personal, social, nutritional, and economic consequences. In the United States, it is estimated that 8% of children and 10.8% of adults have food allergies. Allergies to peanuts are particularly worrisome as unlike allergies to other allergenic foods, such as milk and egg, which are commonly outgrown by 5 or 10 years of age, 80% of peanut allergies persist into adulthood. The first drug for peanut allergy, Palforzia, was approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in January 2020. For other food allergies, the current standard of care for the management of FA is suboptimal and is limited to dietary elimination of the offending allergen, vigilance against accidental ingestion, and treatment of allergic reactions with antihistamines and epinephrine. However, dietary avoidance can be challenging, and it is estimated that approximately 40% of patients with food allergies report at least one food allergy-related emergency department in their lifetime. Reactions, even from minimal exposures, can be life-threatening. Oral immunotherapy (OIT) has been the best researched therapeutic approach for treating FA over the last decade, with clinical trials investigating its efficacy, safety, and ability to improve participants' quality of life (QoL). A number of studies and meta-analyses have shown that OIT treatment is effective in raising the threshold of reactivity to peanuts and other foods in addition to producing a measurable serum immune response to such therapy. Although OIT-related adverse events (AEs) are common during treatment, serious reactions are rare. In fact, while the majority of patients experience AEs related to dosing, most continue daily dosing in hopes of achieving protection against the culprit food. Moreover, the majority of participants report improvement of QoL after OIT and are positive about undergoing OIT. These results show patients' commitment to OIT and their optimism regarding the benefits of treatment. As a first step in therapeutic options to protect from reactions to unintentional ingestion of allergenic foods, and importantly, to address the many psychosocial aspects of living with FA, OIT shows promise. Future research will focus on identifying optimal OIT regimens that maintain protection after therapy and allow for regular food consumption without allergic symptoms. Education and informed shared decision making between patients and providers are essential in optimizing current therapy regimens.

  View details for DOI 10.1016/j.waojou.2020.100455

  View details for PubMedID 33005286

  View details for PubMedCentralID PMC7519204

• Homologies between SARS-CoV-2 and allergen proteins may direct T cell-mediated heterologous immune responses. Research square Balz, K. n., Chen, M. n., Kaushik, A. n., Cemic, F. n., Heger, V. n., Renz, H. n., Nadeau, K. n., Skevaki, C. n. 2020

  Abstract

  The outbreak of the new Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) is a public health emergency. Asthma does not represent a risk factor for COVID-19 in several published cohorts. We hypothesized that the SARS-CoV-2 proteome contains T cell epitopes, which are potentially cross-reactive to allergen epitopes. We aimed at identifying homologous peptide sequences by means of two distinct complementary bioinformatics approaches. Pipeline 1 included prediction of MHC Class I and Class II epitopes contained in the SARS-CoV-2 proteome and allergens along with alignment and elaborate ranking approaches. Pipeline 2 involved alignment of SARS-CoV-2 overlapping peptides with known allergen-derived T cell epitopes. Our results indicate a large number of MHC Class I epitope pairs including known as well as de novo predicted allergen T cell epitopes with high probability for cross-reactivity. Allergen sources, such as Aspergillus fumigatus , Phleum pratense and Dermatophagoides species are of particular interest due to their association with multiple cross-reactive candidate peptides, independently of the applied bioinformatic approach. In contrast, peptides derived from food allergens, as well as MHC class II epitopes did not achieve high in silico ranking and were therefore not further investigated. Our findings warrant further experimental confirmation along with examination of the functional importance of such cross-reactive responses.

  View details for DOI 10.21203/rs.3.rs-86873/v1

  View details for PubMedID 33052330

  View details for PubMedCentralID PMC7553154

• Radiation recall dermatitis triggered by prednisone. Cutis Galant-Swafford, J. n., Chen, M. n., Christiansen, S. C. 2020; 105 (6): E16–E18

  View details for PubMedID 32716998

• Conflicting verdicts on peanut OIT from the ICER and FDA Advisory Committee; where do we go from here? The Journal of allergy and clinical immunology Eiwegger, T., Anagnostou, K., Arasi, S., Begin, P., Ben-Shoshan, M., Beyer, K., Blumchen, K., Brough, H., Caubet, J., Chan, E. S., Chen, M., Chinthrajah, S., Davis, C. M., Roches, A. D., Du Toit, G., Elizur, A., Galli, S. J., Haland, G., Hoffmann-Sommergruber, K., Kim, H., Leung, D. Y., Long, A., Muraro, A., Nurmatov, U. B., Pajno, G. B., Sampath, V., Saxena, J., Sindher, S., Upton, J., Worm, M., Nadeau, K. 2019

  View details for DOI 10.1016/j.jaci.2019.10.021

  View details for PubMedID 31678426

• Analysis of Allergen-Specific T Cell and IgE Reactivity to Different Preparations of Cow's Milk-Containing Food Extracts CELLS Chen, M., Sutherland, A., Birrueta, G., Laubach, S., Leonard, S., Peters, B., Schulten, V. 2019; 8 (7)

  Abstract

  cow's milk allergy (CM) is among the most common food allergies in young children and is often outgrown by adulthood. Prior to developing a tolerance to CM, a majority of CM-allergic children may tolerate extensively-heated CM. This study aims to characterize the IgE- and T cell-reactivity to unheated CM and the progressively more heated CM-containing foods.CM-containing food extracts from muffin, baked cheese, custard and raw, pasteurized CM commercial extract were tested for skin prick test reactivity, IgE binding and T cell reactivity as assessed by IL-5 and IFNγ production.the skin prick test (SPT) reactivity was significantly decreased to muffin extract compared to raw, pasteurized CM. Both IgE- and T-cell reactivity were readily detectable against food extracts from all forms of CM. Western blot analysis of IgE reactivity revealed variability between extracts that was protein-specific. T cell-reactivity was detected against all four extracts with no significant difference in IL-5 or IFNγ production between them.our data indicate that despite reduced clinical reactivity, extracts from heated CM-containing foods retain immunogenicity when tested in vitro, particularly at the T cell level.

  View details for DOI 10.3390/cells8070667

  View details for Web of Science ID 000478902000060

  View details for PubMedID 31269726

  View details for PubMedCentralID PMC6679079

• Acquired Donor Peanut Allergy From Lung Transplantation Resulting in Respiratory Failure: A Case Report TRANSPLANTATION PROCEEDINGS Odish, M., Chen, M., Kim, A., Floreth, T. 2018; 50 (10): 4085–86

  Abstract

  This case report describes a patient who acquired a donor peanut allergy after lung transplantation. A 53-year-old woman with alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency underwent left-sided lung transplant from a donor with a history of anaphylaxis to peanut. Two weeks after the transplant, the patient developed acute respiratory failure immediately after consuming a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. The donor's serum confirmed high titers of peanut-specific immunoglobulin E (IgE). The recipient patient had never had allergies to peanuts or other nuts before her transplant. After the transplant, she had negative serology but positive skin testing to peanuts. This case illustrates the importance of considering donor food allergies when caring for solid organ transplant recipients.

  View details for DOI 10.1016/j.transproceed.2018.08.001

  View details for Web of Science ID 000454972000202

  View details for PubMedID 30447764

• Mast cell disorders Protean manifestations and treatment responses ANNALS OF ALLERGY ASTHMA & IMMUNOLOGY Chen, M., Kim, A., Zuraw, B., Doherty, T. A., Christiansen, S. 2018; 121 (1): 128–30

  View details for DOI 10.1016/j.anai.2018.03.027

  View details for Web of Science ID 000436596100026

  View details for PubMedID 29604336

  View details for PubMedCentralID PMC6026564

• Marijuana and stoned fruit ANNALS OF ALLERGY ASTHMA & IMMUNOLOGY Bhatia, P., Chen, M., Christiansen, S. 2018; 120 (5): 536–37

  View details for Web of Science ID 000432457900018

  View details for PubMedID 29410115

  View details for PubMedCentralID PMC5936671

• Preventing Peanut Allergy PEDIATRIC ALLERGY IMMUNOLOGY AND PULMONOLOGY Chen, M., Welch, M., Laubach, S. 2018; 31 (1): 2–8

  Abstract

  The rising prevalence of food allergy and specifically peanut allergy has had significant implications for affected patients, families, and society. The current standard of care remains strict avoidance and the use of emergency medications for accidental ingestions. There is recent evidence-based information to suggest that one approach to preventing peanut allergy lies in early introduction of peanut. This represents a paradigm shift from previous recommendations and has led to updated guidelines in the United States, Europe, and Australasia on the introduction of potentially allergenic foods in the infant diet. This new approach to prevention has some practical obstacles and challenges associated with its implementation. There is also growing interest in the role of maintaining a healthy skin barrier in prevention of sensitization and food allergy. Other approaches, including pro- and prebiotics, prenatal maternal dietary avoidance, breastfeeding, and the use of specific formulas, have not shown reproducibly favorable results. As children with peanut allergy are unlikely to outgrow their food allergy, early oral immunotherapy in those with established peanut allergy is being investigated with the hopes of altering the natural history of an otherwise lifelong disease.

  View details for DOI 10.1089/ped.2017.0826

  View details for Web of Science ID 000423131000001

  View details for PubMedID 29588872

  View details for PubMedCentralID PMC5867507

• Baked milk and baked egg oral immunotherapy IMMUNOTHERAPY Chen, M., Land, M. 2017; 9 (15): 1201–4

  View details for DOI 10.2217/imt-2017-0112

  View details for Web of Science ID 000415059800002

  View details for PubMedID 29130798

• Emerging Therapies in Hereditary Angioedema IMMUNOLOGY AND ALLERGY CLINICS OF NORTH AMERICA Chen, M., Riedl, M. A. 2017; 37 (3): 585-+

  Abstract

  Remarkable progress has been made in the treatment of bradykinin-mediated angioedema with the advent of multiple new therapies. Patients now have effective medications available for prophylaxis and treatment of acute attacks. However, hereditary angioedema is a burdensome disease that can lead to debilitating and dangerous angioedema episodes associated with significant costs for individuals and society. The burden of treatment must be addressed regarding medication administration difficulties, treatment complications, and adverse side effects. New therapies are being investigated and may offer solutions to these challenges. This article reviews the emerging therapeutic options for the treatment of HAE.

  View details for DOI 10.1016/j.iac.2017.03.003

  View details for Web of Science ID 000406819300012

  View details for PubMedID 28687111

  View details for PubMedCentralID PMC5585075

• The current state of food allergy therapeutics HUMAN VACCINES & IMMUNOTHERAPEUTICS Chen, M., Land, M. 2017; 13 (10): 2434–42

  Abstract

  The prevalence of IgE mediated food allergy is an increasing public health concern. The current standard of treatment is strict avoidance of the offending food(s). There are no FDA approved treatments for food allergy. This review will provide an overview of strategies currently under investigation for the treatment of food allergy. The main focus of research has been directed at various forms of immunotherapy, including oral, sublingual and epicutaneous delivery routes. While oral immunotherapy (OIT) has shown the greatest promise for efficacy in terms of amount of protein that can be ingested, it has also demonstrated less tolerability and a less favorable safety profile as compared to sublingual immunotherapy (SLIT) and epicutaneous immunotherapy (EPIT), which offers the least protection but has the best safety and tolerability profile. Investigation is also underway for modified antigens that may be used for immunotherapy and for adjuncts that may help facilitate immunotherapy, including biologics such as anti-IgE therapy, and also probiotics. There are also a number of preclinical concepts that are being evaluated to manipulate the antigens and/or the immune system that may one day be translatable to patients.

  View details for Web of Science ID 000415981300041

  View details for PubMedID 28846472

  View details for PubMedCentralID PMC5647972

• Elevated Lactate Levels in a Non-Critically Ill Patient JAMA-JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN MEDICAL ASSOCIATION Chen, M., Kim, T. Y., Pessegueiro, A. M. 2015; 313 (8): 849–50

  View details for DOI 10.1001/jama.2014.14074

  View details for Web of Science ID 000349826400019

  View details for PubMedID 25710662

• Voriconazole Antifungal Prophylaxis After Lung Transplantation And Risk Of Squamous Cell Carcinoma Of The Skin Kolaitis, N. A., Zhang, A., Lo, M., Barba, D., Chen, M., Soriano, T., Hu, J., Nabili, V., Saggar, R., Ross, D., Belperio, J. A., Saggar, R., Weigt, S. S. AMER THORACIC SOC. 2015

  View details for Web of Science ID 000377582800432