'leading factor of' is a correct and usable phrase in written English.
You could use it when discussing a factor that has a significant influence on the outcome of a situation. For example: "Poverty is the leading factor of poor diet among children."
In this study, therefore, shear strain was assumed to be the leading factor of pore pressure increase, which consequently reduces shear stiffness as effective confining pressure decreases.
The analysis of Data source 2 reveals that the security scan tools (represented by the data attribute Scan_source) are not a leading factor of issue fix time.
In wet, accumulative landscapes, biota is a leading factor of the radionuclide cycle, while in dry, eluvial landscapes, soil absorbing complex plays a more important role.
The findings suggested that both patients and caregivers perceived non adherence to antipsychotic medication as a leading factor of relapse.
Since EMT can be affected by many signal pathways and kinds of transcription factors [ 36], another transcription factor or signal pathway may be the leading factor of EMT induced by ROS.
Further, venous thrombosis has been reported to be the second leading factor of death in cancer patients and is a major cause of morbidity and mortality during pregnancy and child birth.
Waste streams in cities are the leading factor in pollution of the areas outside their geo-political boundaries.
The rising temperature of the world's oceans is a leading factor in the demise of coral communities.
The sharp fall in stock prices until about a month ago has been the leading factor in the minds of many homeowners who are taking advantage of low interest rates to switch to 15-year mortgages.
Most of the nation's heart researchers agree that high blood pressure is a leading factor in the incidence of heart attack and stroke.
Ice has been a leading factor in several fatal crashes of turboprop planes, notably in Roselawn, Ind., in 1994, and Raisinville Township, Mich., south of Detroit, in 1997.
