Gabriel M Leung
Biographic Data
| ID | 74798 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Gabriel M Leung |
| GIVEN NAMES | Gabriel M |
| FAMILY NAME | Leung |
| SIGNATURE | LEUNG G M |
| AFFILIATIONS | School of Public Health, Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, Hong Kong |
| VERIFIED | No |
| TOTAL WORKS | 41 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 81 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 41 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2002 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2025 |
| H-INDEX | 5 |
Body mass index trajectories and all-cause mortality in older Chinese adults
BACKGROUND: Weight loss at older ages appears to be associated with higher mortality in Western and some East Asian countries, despite differences in the prevalence of obesity; whether it is relevant to China is unknown. We examined the association of body mass index (BMI) trajectories with all-cause mortality in older Chinese adults by sex and baseline age (65-69 years, 70+ years). METHODS: 54 160 participants aged 65 or above from Hong Kong's E…
Worldwide trends in underweight and obesity from 1990 to 2022
BACKGROUND: Underweight and obesity are associated with adverse health outcomes throughout the life course. We estimated the individual and combined prevalence of underweight or thinness and obesity, and their changes, from 1990 to 2022 for adults and school-aged children and adolescents in 200 countries and territories. METHODS: ). For school-aged children and adolescents, we report thinness (BMI 2 SD above the median). FINDINGS: From 1990 to 20…
Relative Deprivation, Income Inequality, and Cardiovascular Health
The associations between absolute vs. relative income at the household or neighborhood level and cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk remain understudied in the Chinese context. Further, it is unclear whether stress biomarkers, such as cortisol, are on the pathway from income to CVD risk. We examined the associations of absolute and relative income with CVD risk observationally, as well as the mediating role of cortisol, and validated the role of co…
The future of human behaviour research
First-wave Covid-19 transmissibility and severity in China outside Hubei after control measures, and second-wave scenario planning
Depression and post-traumatic stress during major social unrest in Hong Kong
Nowcasting and forecasting the potential domestic and international spread of the 2019-nCoV outbreak originating in Wuhan, China
Lessons learnt from easing Covid-19 restrictions
Are high-performing health systems resilient against the Covid-19 epidemic?
Early Transmission Dynamics in Wuhan, China, of Novel Coronavirus–Infected Pneumonia
BACKGROUND: The initial cases of novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV)-infected pneumonia (NCIP) occurred in Wuhan, Hubei Province, China, in December 2019 and January 2020. We analyzed data on the first 425 confirmed cases in Wuhan to determine the epidemiologic characteristics of NCIP. METHODS: We collected information on demographic characteristics, exposure history, and illness timelines of laboratory-confirmed cases of NCIP that had been reported by…
The association of air pollution with height
Objectives Within populations, height is positively associated with economic success and in economically developed populations inversely associated with health. Recent studies also suggest air pollution may result in higher bone turnover markers among children, which may affect growth. However, few studies have investigated the effect of air pollution on height or growth rate. We therefore assessed the associations of several air pollutants with …
Pubertal testis volume, age at pubertal onset, and adolescent blood pressure
OBJECTIVES: A warning from Health Canada suggests that testosterone increases blood pressure (BP). No evidence from large randomized controlled trials is available, and observational studies are confounded by ill-health lowering serum testosterone. To address the evidence gap, we assessed the association of pubertal testicular volume, as a reflection of testosterone production, with BP. METHODS: We examined whether testicular volume was associate…
The association of breastfeeding with insulin resistance at 17 years
Breastfeeding has many benefits for mother and infant. Whether breastfeeding also protects against type 2 diabetes is unclear. To clarify the role of breastfeeding in type 2 diabetes, we assessed the association of breastfeeding with insulin resistance in late adolescence in a birth cohort from a non-Western setting where breastfeeding was not associated with higher socio-economic position. We used multivariable linear regression, with multiple i…
Socioeconomic disparities in preterm birth and birth weight in a non-Western developed setting
BACKGROUND: Preterm birth (PTB), low birth weight and small-for-gestational age (SGA) are associated with lower socioeconomic position (SEP) in developed Western settings, but it is unclear if such disparities persist to the same extent elsewhere, and whether associations differ by measure of SEP used. Here, we assessed the association of SEP with PTB, birth weight and SGA in the recently developed non-Western setting of Hong Kong where few women…
Will Ebola change the game? Ten essential reforms before the next pandemic. The report of the Harvard-LSHTM Independent Panel on the Global Response to Ebola
The west African Ebola epidemic that began in 2013 exposed deep inadequacies in the national and international institutions responsible for protecting the public from the far-reaching human, social, economic, and political consequences of infectious disease outbreaks. The Ebola epidemic raised a crucial question: what reforms are needed to mend the fragile global system for outbreak prevention and response, rebuild confidence, and prevent future …
Household income and adolescent blood pressure in a Chinese birth cohort
A cluster analysis of patterns of objectively measured physical activity in Hong Kong
Objective The health benefits of exercise are clear. In targeting interventions it would be valuable to know whether characteristic patterns of physical activity (PA) are associated with particular population subgroups. The present study used cluster analysis to identify characteristic hourly PA patterns measured by accelerometer. Design Cross-sectional design. Setting Objectively measured PA in Hong Kong adults. Subjects Four-day accelerometer d…
Pubertal muscle mass and diabetes markers in chinese adolescents
Objectives: Diabetes is common in China despite a relatively nonobese population. We hypothesized that testosterone driven muscle mass acquisition at puberty may be relevant. We examined the associations of testosterone with muscle mass and of muscle mass with fasting glucose in Chinese adolescents. Methods: In 40 adolescents (20 boys and 20 girls, age 12.9 ± 0.1 years) from Hong Kong's “Children of 1997” birth cohort, we used multivariable linea…
Life-course origins of social inequalities in adult immune cell markers of inflammation in a developing southern Chinese population
Low SEP throughout life may negatively impact late adult immune-inflammatory status. However, some aspects of immune-inflammatory status may be sensitive to earlier exposures, with sex-specific associations. The findings were compatible with the hypothesis that in a developing population, upregulation of the gonadotropic axis with economic development may obscure the normally protective effects of social advantage for men
Does childhood meat eating contribute to sex differences in risk factors for ischaemic heart disease in a developing population
BACKGROUND: A male epidemic of ischaemic heart disease (IHD) emerges with economic development. It has previously been hypothesised that this epidemic is due to nutritionally driven levels of pubertal sex steroids, which lead to a more atherogenic body shape and lipid profile in boys but not girls, without any sex-specific effects on glucose metabolism. This study tests this hypothesis by examining the association of childhood meat eating with IH…
Socioeconomic influences at different life stages on health in Guangzhou, China
Understanding sociohistorical imprint on cancer risk by age–period–cohort decomposition in Hong Kong
BACKGROUND: Research on trends in cancer incidence has usually examined single sites in populations that long ago completed the economic transition. The trends in 11 cancers in three groups in the recently transitioned Hong Kong Chinese population were examined to delineate the effects of economic transition and provide generalised aetiological insights. METHODS: Sex-specific Poisson models were fitted to cancer incidence in Hong Kong (1974-2003)…
Intergenerational 'mismatch' and adiposity in a developing population
Social disparities and cause-specific mortality during economic development
Alcohol and cardio-respiratory deaths in Chinese
High levels of alcohol use in an older Chinese population were associated with lower IHD mortality. Moderate alcohol use was less consistently protective against IHD mortality. Alcohol use was associated with lower COPD mortality particularly in men, either due to some yet to be clarified properties of alcohol or as the artefactual result of genetic selection into alcohol use in a Chinese population. Given the increasing use of alcohol in China w…
A multilevel analysis of the effects of neighbourhood income inequality on individual self-rated health in Hong Kong
Horizontal equity in health care utilization evidence from three high-income Asian economies
Suicidality and cultural values among Hong Kong adolescents
The ecology of health care in Hong Kong
Height, Its Components, and Cardiovascular Risk Among Older Chinese
Objectives. Better childhood conditions, inferred from height and specifically leg length, are usually protective against ischemic heart disease and its risk factors in Western countries. In other geoethnic populations, height is less clearly protective, casting doubt on there being a biological etiology. To clarify the role of childhood conditions, we examined the associations of height and its components with cardiovascular risk among older Chi…
Socioeconomic influences at different life stages on health in Guangzhou, China
The future of human behaviour research
Understanding sociohistorical imprint on cancer risk by age–period–cohort decomposition in Hong Kong
BACKGROUND: Research on trends in cancer incidence has usually examined single sites in populations that long ago completed the economic transition. The trends in 11 cancers in three groups in the recently transitioned Hong Kong Chinese population were examined to delineate the effects of economic transition and provide generalised aetiological insights. METHODS: Sex-specific Poisson models were fitted to cancer incidence in Hong Kong (1974-2003)…
Intergenerational 'mismatch' and adiposity in a developing population
Depressive Symptoms Among Hong Kong Adolescents
Will Screening Mammography in the East Do More Harm than Good
Objectives. We sought to systematically review the evidence for population-based mammography as applied to a Chinese population. Methods. Primary reports for meta-analysis were identified by a search of MEDLINE and the Cochrane Library. Outcome measures included breast cancer–related mortality, the number needed to be screened to prevent 1 death, and the positive predictive value of mammography. Results. Pooled relative risk for breast cancer–rel…
Household income and adolescent blood pressure in a Chinese birth cohort
Social disparities and cause-specific mortality during economic development
Age-period-cohort analysis of cervical cancer incidence in Hong Kong from 1972 to 2001 using maximum likelihood and Bayesian methods
Objective: To examine the secular effects of opportunistic screening for cervical cancer in a rich, developed community where most other such populations have long adopted organised screening. Design, setting, and participants: The analysis was based on 15 140 cases of invasive cervical cancer from 1972 to 2001. The effects of chronological age, time period, and birth cohort were decomposed using both maximum likelihood and Bayesian methods. Resu…
A prospective study of stage of change for general health promotion action and health-related lifestyle practices among Chinese adults
Will Screening Mammography in the East Do More Harm than Good
Objectives. We sought to systematically review the evidence for population-based mammography as applied to a Chinese population. Methods. Primary reports for meta-analysis were identified by a search of MEDLINE and the Cochrane Library. Outcome measures included breast cancer–related mortality, the number needed to be screened to prevent 1 death, and the positive predictive value of mammography. Results. Pooled relative risk for breast cancer–rel…
Leung Et Al. Respond
We agree with Tseng and Fang’s extrapolation of our calculations to Asian Americans but differ on their interpretation of the results. First, while Asian Americans suffered fewer breast cancer–related deaths, their mortality rates relative to incidence for women aged 50 years and older in 1996 (32.7/126.4 per 100 000 = 0.26) were in fact higher than those reported for Whites (78.2/367.4 per 100 000 = 0.21).1 Second, their assertion that “any canc…
Waiting Time, Doctor Shopping, and Nonattendance at Specialist Outpatient Clinics
OBJECTIVE: Nonattendance is a major health services research and management issue that has received little attention or systematic study in Asia. We examined the independent associations between waiting time, doctor shopping, and nonattendance in specialist outpatient clinics of 4 large public hospitals in Hong Kong. RESEARCH DESIGN: Case-control study. SETTING AND PARTICIPANTS: A total of 6495 attenders and nonattenders enrolled from July 2000 t…
Depressive Symptoms Among Hong Kong Adolescents
Suicidality and cultural values among Hong Kong adolescents
Longitudinal Assessment of Community Psychobehavioral Responses During and After the 2003 Outbreak of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome in Hong Kong
BACKGROUND: In previous literature, the stability and temporal evolution of psychobehavioral responses to an outbreak remained undefined, because of the exclusively cross-sectional nature of such study designs. METHODS: Using random-digit dialing, we sampled 4481 Hong Kong residents in 6 population-based surveys that were conducted at different times during and after the 2003 outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS). RESULTS: Responde…
Brief communication
The Impact of Work-related Risk on Nurses During the Sars Outbreak in Hong Kong
Severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) is a highly infectious disease, with high potential for transmission to close contacts, particularly among healthcare workers. This is the first systematic study investigating hospital nurses' physical and psychological health status and the kinds of healthcare used-stratified by the level of contact with SARS patients-during the 2003 outbreak in Hong Kong. Nurses in moderate-risk areas appeared to have mo…
The ecology of health care in Hong Kong
Age-period-cohort analysis of cervical cancer incidence in Hong Kong from 1972 to 2001 using maximum likelihood and Bayesian methods
Objective: To examine the secular effects of opportunistic screening for cervical cancer in a rich, developed community where most other such populations have long adopted organised screening. Design, setting, and participants: The analysis was based on 15 140 cases of invasive cervical cancer from 1972 to 2001. The effects of chronological age, time period, and birth cohort were decomposed using both maximum likelihood and Bayesian methods. Resu…
A prospective study of stage of change for general health promotion action and health-related lifestyle practices among Chinese adults
Smoking, quitting and mortality in an elderly cohort of 56 000 Hong Kong Chinese
In old age, smoking continues to be a major cause of death, and quitting is beneficial. Smoking cessation is urgently needed in rapidly ageing populations in the East
Height, Its Components, and Cardiovascular Risk Among Older Chinese
Objectives. Better childhood conditions, inferred from height and specifically leg length, are usually protective against ischemic heart disease and its risk factors in Western countries. In other geoethnic populations, height is less clearly protective, casting doubt on there being a biological etiology. To clarify the role of childhood conditions, we examined the associations of height and its components with cardiovascular risk among older Chi…
Horizontal equity in health care utilization evidence from three high-income Asian economies
Does Smoking Affect Hospital Use Before Death
BACKGROUND: Given the apparent greater use of health care services by smokers and predictions of higher costs for a never-smoking population, we aimed in this study to determine whether the acute hospital costs in the last years of life of never- and ever-smokers differed before death using a database of the decedents in 1 year in Hong Kong. OBJECTIVES: To compare the acute hospital use of ever- and never-smoker decedents. METHODS: The data on ca…
Alcohol and cardio-respiratory deaths in Chinese
High levels of alcohol use in an older Chinese population were associated with lower IHD mortality. Moderate alcohol use was less consistently protective against IHD mortality. Alcohol use was associated with lower COPD mortality particularly in men, either due to some yet to be clarified properties of alcohol or as the artefactual result of genetic selection into alcohol use in a Chinese population. Given the increasing use of alcohol in China w…
A multilevel analysis of the effects of neighbourhood income inequality on individual self-rated health in Hong Kong
Understanding sociohistorical imprint on cancer risk by age–period–cohort decomposition in Hong Kong
BACKGROUND: Research on trends in cancer incidence has usually examined single sites in populations that long ago completed the economic transition. The trends in 11 cancers in three groups in the recently transitioned Hong Kong Chinese population were examined to delineate the effects of economic transition and provide generalised aetiological insights. METHODS: Sex-specific Poisson models were fitted to cancer incidence in Hong Kong (1974-2003)…
Intergenerational 'mismatch' and adiposity in a developing population
Social disparities and cause-specific mortality during economic development
Does childhood meat eating contribute to sex differences in risk factors for ischaemic heart disease in a developing population
BACKGROUND: A male epidemic of ischaemic heart disease (IHD) emerges with economic development. It has previously been hypothesised that this epidemic is due to nutritionally driven levels of pubertal sex steroids, which lead to a more atherogenic body shape and lipid profile in boys but not girls, without any sex-specific effects on glucose metabolism. This study tests this hypothesis by examining the association of childhood meat eating with IH…
Socioeconomic influences at different life stages on health in Guangzhou, China
Pubertal muscle mass and diabetes markers in chinese adolescents
Objectives: Diabetes is common in China despite a relatively nonobese population. We hypothesized that testosterone driven muscle mass acquisition at puberty may be relevant. We examined the associations of testosterone with muscle mass and of muscle mass with fasting glucose in Chinese adolescents. Methods: In 40 adolescents (20 boys and 20 girls, age 12.9 ± 0.1 years) from Hong Kong's “Children of 1997” birth cohort, we used multivariable linea…
Life-course origins of social inequalities in adult immune cell markers of inflammation in a developing southern Chinese population
Low SEP throughout life may negatively impact late adult immune-inflammatory status. However, some aspects of immune-inflammatory status may be sensitive to earlier exposures, with sex-specific associations. The findings were compatible with the hypothesis that in a developing population, upregulation of the gonadotropic axis with economic development may obscure the normally protective effects of social advantage for men
A cluster analysis of patterns of objectively measured physical activity in Hong Kong
Objective The health benefits of exercise are clear. In targeting interventions it would be valuable to know whether characteristic patterns of physical activity (PA) are associated with particular population subgroups. The present study used cluster analysis to identify characteristic hourly PA patterns measured by accelerometer. Design Cross-sectional design. Setting Objectively measured PA in Hong Kong adults. Subjects Four-day accelerometer d…
Medicine (37 works) · Demography (28 works) · Environmental health (25 works) · Population (25 works) · Internal Medicine (19 works) · Cohort (14 works) · Internal Medicine (12 works) · Demography (11 works) · Geography (11 works) · Gerontology (11 works)