Leung, Brenda

Associate Professor

Health Sci - Public Health Program

Phone
(403) 329-2366
Email
brenda.leung@uleth.ca

About Me

I am an Associate Professor in Public Health, and the Emmy Droog Chair in Complementary and Alternative Healthcare.
I am an Adjunct Assistant Professor, Community Health Sciences, Cumming School of Medicine, University of Calgary.
I also hold a Visiting Research Fellow with the International Complementary Medicine Research Leadership and Capacity Building Program, Australian Research Centre in Complementary and Integrative Medicine (ARCCIM), University of Technology, Sydney, Australia.

My training is in epidemiology and naturopathic medicine. My research includes the application of various CAHC therapies in the treatment of chronic disease, as well as approaches for integrative healthcare. For example, one of my current projects is investigating the use of acupuncture in childhood anxiety. Another area of focus is the role of nutrition, in particular multi-micronutrients in maternal (mental) health and child neurocognitive development. For example, my research has examined the role of prenatal micronutrient supplementation on maternal mood and child development, the importance of nutrition during pregnancy and for child brain development.

I am currently accepting graduate students.

Publications

1.tBrenda Leung, Chinenye Nwoke. Association between C-reactive protein and mood disorder in a representative sample of the Canadian population: Analysis of CHMS data 2013-2014. Canadian Journal of Public Health (in press).
2.tJeanette M. Johnstone, Brenda MY Leung, Priya Srikanth, Irene Hatsu, Leanna Perez, Barbara Gracious, Gabriella Tost, Michael G. Aman, Kenneth D. Gadow, Robert L. Findling, Oscar Bukstein, L. Eugene Arnold. Development of a composite primary outcome score for children with ADHD and emotional dysregulation. J of Child and Adolescent Psychopharmacology (in press).
3.tJeanette Johnstone, Brenda Leung, Barbara Gracious, Leanna Perez, Gabriella Tost, Andrew Savoy, Irene Hatsu, Andrew Hughes, Alisa Bruton, Gene Arnold. Rationale and design of an international randomized placebo-controlled trial of a 36-ingredient micronutrient supplement for children with ADHD and irritable mood: the Micronutrients in ADHD Youth (MADDY) Study. Contemporary Clinical Trials. 2019 Oct 26;16:100478. doi: 10.1016/j.conctc.2019.100478.
4.tNicole Letourneau; Brenda Leung; Henry Ntanda; Deborah Dewey; Andrea Deane; Gerald Giesbrecht. Maternal and Paternal Perinatal Depressive Symptoms Associate with Behavioural Problems in 2- and 3-Year-Old Children: Findings from the APrON Longitudinal Study. BMC Pediatrics. 2019 Nov 13;19(1):435. doi: 10.1186/s12887-019-1775-1.
5.tBishop FL, Lauche R, Cramer H, Pinto JW, Leung B, Hall H, Leach M, Chung VC, Sundberg T, Zhang Y, Steel A, Ward L, Sibbritt D, Adams J. Health Behavior Change and Complementary Medicine Use: National Health Interview Survey 2012. Medicina (Kaunas). 2019 Sep 24;55(10):632. doi: 10.3390/medicina55100632. PMID: 31554323; PMCID: PMC6843558.
6.tBrenda Leung, Peter Kellet, Erik Youngson, Josh Hathaway, Maria Santana. Trends in psychiatric disorders and medication prescriptions for children in Alberta Canada. Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology. 2019 May 25. doi: 10.1007/s00127-019-01714-w.
7.tYan Zhang, Jeff Dennis, Felicity Bishop, Holger Cramer, Mathew Leach , Romy Lauche, Tobias Sundberg, Brenda Leung, Anthony L. Zhang, Luke Bacon, David Sibbritt and Jon Adam. Complementary and Alternative Medicine Use by U.S. Adults with Arthritis: Results from the 2012 National Health Interview Survey. Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation (https://doi.org/10.1002/pmrj.12124). May, 2019.
8.tLetourneau N, Dewey D, Kaplan B, Ntanda H, Novick J, Thomas JC, Deane A, Leung B, Pon K, Giesbrecht GF and the APrON Study Team. Intergenerational transmission of adverse childhood experiences via maternal depression and anxiety and moderation by child sex. Journal of Developmental Origins of Health and Disease. 2019 Feb;10(1):88-99. doi: 10.1017/S2040174418000648.
9.tLeung BM, Takeda W, Holec V. A pilot study of acupuncture in the treatment of adolescent anxiety. Journal of Paediatrics and Child Health. February, 2018. doi:10.1111/jpc.13910.
10.tBrenda M Leung, Romy Lauche, Yang, Zhang, Holger Cramer, Matthew Leach, David Sibbritt. Special Diets in Modern America: Analysis of the 2012 NHIS Data. Nutrition and Health. Aug, 2017. DOI: 10.1177/0260106017732719.
11.tLeung BM, Letourneau N, Bright K, Geisbrecht G, Ntanda H, Gagnon L, and the APrON Team. Appraisal of the Psychiatric Diagnostic Screening Questionnaire in a Perinatal Cohort: The APrON Study. Scandinavian Journal of Epidemiology. 017 Aug; 45(6):658-665. doi: 10.1177/1403494817717835

Leung, B.M.Y., Letourneau, N.L., Giesbrecht, G.F. et al. Predictors of Postpartum Depression in Partnered Mothers and Fathers from a Longitudinal Cohort. Community Ment Health J (2016). doi:10.1007/s10597-016-0060-0.
* Holger Cramer, Brenda Leung, Helen, Matthew Leach, Jane Forley, Yan Zhang, Jon Adam, Romy Lauche. Prevalence, patterns, and predictors of meditation use among US adults: A nationally representative survey. Scientific Report, Oct 2016 (in press).
• Amie Steel, Holger Cramer, Brenda Leung, Romy Lauche, Jon Adams, Jost Langhorst, Gustav Dobos. Characteristics of homeopathy users among internal medicine patients in Germany. 'Forschende Komplementärmedizin / Research in Complementary Medicine [In press].

• Yan Zhang, Matthew J Leach, Felicity Bishop, Brenda Leung. A comparison of the characteristics of acupuncture-preferred consumers and non-acupuncture preferred consumers: a secondary analysis of NHIS 2012 data. Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine, Feb. 2016

• Leung BMY, McDonald S, Giesbrecht G, Kaplan BJ, Tough, S. Comparison of sample characteristics in two pregnancy cohorts and their community-based versus population-based recruitment methods. BMC Medical Research & Methods. Dec, 2013, 13:149.

• Kaplan BJ, Leung BM, Giesbrecht GF, Field CJ, Bernier FP, Tough S, Cui X, Dewey D, and the APrON Study Team. Increasing the quality of life from womb to grave: The importance of pregnancy and birth cohorts. Appl Physiol Nutr Metab, January 2013, 38(1):85-89. DOI:10.1139/apnm-2012-0080.

• Leung MY Brenda, Kaplan J Bonnie, Field J Catherine, Tough Suzanne, Eliasziw Misha, Gomez Fajer Mariel, McCargar J Linda, Gagnon Lisa, and the APrON Study Team. Prenatal micronutrient supplementation and postpartum depressive symptoms in a pregnancy cohort. BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth. 2013, 13:2. DOI: 10.1186/1471-2393-13-2.

• Farzaneh Osati, Brenda MY Leung, Chris Hergesheimer, Patricia Wolfe, Sarah Beasleigh, Karrin Fairman-Young. A Cross-sectional study of Patient Satisfaction and Patient Retention in a Canadian naturopathic teaching clinic. International Journal of Naturopathic Medicine. Mar, 2013, 6(1).

• Leung BMY, Flower G, Cooley K, Habib C, Gowan M, Podgrabinski S, Seely D. Assessing the utility of an electronic research database to capture whole systems practice at two naturopathic outpatient teaching clinics. Journal of Evidence Based Complementary & Alternative Medicine. Published online 26 December 2012. DOI: 10.1177/2156587212470139.

• Kaplan BJ, Geisbrecht GF, Leung BMY, Field CJ, Dewey D, Bell RC, Manca DP, O'Beirne M, Johnston DW, Pop VJ, Singhal N, Gagnon L, Bernier FP, Eliasziw M, McCargar LJ, Kooistra L, Farmer A, Cantell M, Goonewardene L, Casey LM, Letourneau N, Martin JW. (July 17 2012). The Alberta Pregnancy Outcomes and Nutrition (APrON) cohort study: Rationale and Methods. Maternal and Child Nutrition, doi: 10.1111/j.1740-8709.2012.00433.x. [Epub ahead of print]

• Kaplan B, Leung B. Multi-micronutrient supplementation for the treatment of psychiatric symptoms. Integrative Medicine: A Clinician's Journal, 10(3), Jun-Jul 2011.

• Leung BMY, Wiens KP, Kaplan BJ. Does prenatal micronutrient supplementation improve children's mental development? A systematic review. BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth 2011, 11:12 (3 February, 2011)

• Leung BM, Catallo C, Riediger ND, Cahill NE, Kastner M. What DO we know about developing an end-of-grant KT plan? The trainees' perspective. Meeting report. Implementation Science. Implementation Science 2010, 5:78.

• Mehl-Madrona L, Leung BM, Kennedy C, Paul S, Kaplan B. Micronutrients versus standard medication management in autism: A naturalistic case-control study. Journal of Child and Adolescent Psychopharmacology. 2010. 20(2): 95-103.

Other publications

• Leung B, Kaplan B, Dewey D, Field C, O'Bierne M, Farmer A, Johnston D. Moving knowledge from the lab to the people - the APrON experience in KT. Interdisciplinary Teams - Making Research Make a Difference. Alberta Innovates − Health Solutions KT Casebook, Volume 2, 2011.

• Leung B, Adair C, McKenzie K, Lurie S. Advancing KT for Diverse Populations and Mental Health. Bridging the Gap, Knowledge Translation in Alberta. Alberta Innovates − Health Solutions KT Casebook, Volume 1, 2010.

Research Interests

nutrition and micronutrients
integrative healthcare
acupuncture
mind-body therapies
maternal and child health
mental health
chronic pain
clinical trials, cohort study, mixed methods
innovative research methodology

In The Media

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rsYtSUsBkJc&feature=youtu.be

http://www.uleth.ca/unews/article/taking-big-picture-approach-health-care-0

http://www.uleth.ca/unews/article/dr-brenda-leung-appointed-emmy-droog-chair-complementary-and-alternative-health-care

http://research4kids.ucalgary.ca/profiles/brenda-leung

http://www.apronstudy.ca/TeamMembers/Investigators.aspx

http://www.nationalpost.com/news/story.html?id=6e7accc7-1c7d-4602-88a9-ea63cd9b2711