Peter Ritchie | Institute of Occupational Medicine (original) (raw)

Papers by Peter Ritchie

Occupational and Environmental Medicine, 2020

ObjectivesTo examine associations between occupational exposures to rubber dust, rubber fumes and... more ObjectivesTo examine associations between occupational exposures to rubber dust, rubber fumes and N-nitrosamines and non-cancer mortality.MethodsA cohort of 36 441 males aged 35+ years employed in British rubber factories was followed-up to 2015 (94% deceased). Competing risk survival analysis was used to assess risks of dying from non-cancer diseases (respiratory, urinary, cerebrovascular, circulatory and digestive diseases). Occupational exposures to rubber dust, rubber fumes, N-nitrosamines were derived based on a population-specific quantitative job-exposure matrix which in-turn was based on measurements in the EU-EXASRUB database.ResultsExposure–response associations of increased risk with increasing exposure were found for N-nitrosomorpholine with mortality from circulatory diseases (subdistribution hazard ratio (SHR) 1.17; 95% CI 1.12 to 1.23), ischaemic heart disease (IHD) (SHR 1.19; 95% CI 1.13 to 1.26), cerebrovascular disease (SHR 1.19; 95% CI 1.07 to 1.32) and exposures ...

Diabetes Care, 2005

OBJECTIVE—Hypoglycemia was examined in regularly employed people with insulin-treated diabetes to... more OBJECTIVE—Hypoglycemia was examined in regularly employed people with insulin-treated diabetes to ascertain the frequency and consequences of this problem in the workplace. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS—A prospective 12-month survey of 243 employed people (age range 20–69 years) with insulin-treated diabetes was performed to record the frequency, severity, and morbidity of hypoglycemia occurring at work. Details of hypoglycemic episodes included time of day, place, activity, causation, blood glucose, treatment, and morbidity. Serial HbA1c measurements were recorded. RESULTS—A total of 1,955 mild (self-treated) episodes of hypoglycemia (8 per person per annum) and 238 severe (requiring external help) episodes (0.98 per person per annum) were recorded. Of the severe hypoglycemic episodes, 148 (62%) occurred at home, 35 (15%) occurred at work in 27 (11%) people (0.14 episodes per person per annum), and 54 (23%) occurred elsewhere; 52% of severe episodes occurred during sleep. Of the seve...

Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research), May 31, 2021

Study questionnaire (Socio-demographics, Knowledge and Stages of Change). (DOCX 89 kb)

Poster Presentation, 2017

Occupational and Environmental Medicine, 2019

IntroductionInorganic lead is considered a probable carcinogen by IARC (brain, lung, and stomach)... more IntroductionInorganic lead is considered a probable carcinogen by IARC (brain, lung, and stomach).MethodsWe conducted internal analyses via Cox regression of cancer incidence in two cohorts of lead-exposed workers with blood lead data (Finland, UK ), including almost 30 000 workers (20 752 in Finland and 9122 in the UK) and over 10 000 incident cancers. Our exposure metric was maximum annual blood lead (BL) test.ResultsThe combined cohort had a median maximum blood lead of 29 ug/dl, a mean first year BL test of 1977, and was 87% male. Forty-seven percent had more than 1 BL test. Significant (p<0.05) positive trends, using the log of each worker’s maximum BL, were found for brain cancer (malignant and benign combined), Hodgkins’s lymphoma, lung cancer, and rectal cancer, while significant negative trends were found for colon cancer and melanoma. A borderline significant positive trend (0.05≤p≤0.10) was found for esophageal cancer. Significant interactions by country were found onl...

Journal of Public Health, 2019

Background The aim of this study was to determine whether a text messaging intervention (supporte... more Background The aim of this study was to determine whether a text messaging intervention (supported by a smartphone application) would be effective in the promotion of sun-safe behaviours. Both excessive and insufficient exposure to ultra-violet (UV) radiation were considered. Methods A randomized control crossover trial was conducted. 112 participants from nine sites in the United Kingdom contributed to the study. There were three intervention waves, two in winter (Vitamin D-focussed) and one in summer (UV exposure-focussed). Stages of Change, Standard Erythemal (UV) Dose and assayed blood samples (Vitamin D) were employed to evaluate the effectiveness throughout the 21-day data collection periods. Results The intervention was effective in promoting positive progression in Stages of Change for Vitamin D; and this in turn was predictive of increased Vitamin D levels in participants. More limited positive findings were found with respect to UV exposure. Overall, for those in the Inter...

Policy and Practice in Health and Safety, 2016

Managing health at work – recording and monitoring information on sickness absence including work... more Managing health at work – recording and monitoring information on sickness absence including work relatedness

There is an urgent need to apply effective, data-driven approaches to reliably predict engineered... more There is an urgent need to apply effective, data-driven approaches to reliably predict engineered nanomaterial (ENM) toxicity. Here we introduce a predictive computational framework based on the molecular and phenotypic effects of a large panel of ENMs across multiple in vitro and in vivo models. Our methodology allows for the grouping of ENMs based on multi-omics approaches combined with robust toxicity tests. Importantly, we identified novel mRNA-based toxicity markers and extensively replicated them in multiple independent datasets. We found that models based on combinations of omics-derived features and material intrinsic properties displayed significantly improved predictive accuracy as compared to physicochemical properties alone.

SUMMARY The uses of pesticides and other similar products are carefully regulated in Great Britai... more SUMMARY The uses of pesticides and other similar products are carefully regulated in Great Britain. Before a product can be used it must undergo a review of its toxicity and potential human exposure to ensure that the risks are acceptable. Exposure during application and in other occupational situations is assessed along with people living near to fields or who just happen to be in the vicinity of fields being treated, ie bystanders. Consideration is also given to the possible risks to consumers from eating food containing ...

Theory of Planned Behaviour, Vitamin D questionnaire. (DOCX 26 kb)

Theory of Planned Behaviour, Sun-safety questionnaire. (DOCX 28 kb)

The use of knowledge transfer methodologies in safety and health has been limited. This paper rep... more The use of knowledge transfer methodologies in safety and health has been limited. This paper reports on a larger project which examined sources of knowledge available, knowledge transfer and the skills required for knowledge transfer. Using a mixed-methods approach including review, a questionnaire survey of practitioners and twelve organisational based case studies; the project identified a number of key skills that influence the success of knowledge transfer interventions. Key skills identified within the research include being able to identify authoritative sources of knowledge, the ability to translate knowledge into local language and finding the best way of communicating knowledge and information.

Objectives To quantitatively evaluate exposure-response associations between occupational exposur... more Objectives To quantitatively evaluate exposure-response associations between occupational exposures to rubber dust, fumes and N-nitrosamines and cancer mortality in the UK rubber industry. Methods Competing risk survival analyses were used to examine cancer mortality risk in a cohort of 36 441 males aged 35+ years employed in the British rubber industry in 1967, followed up to 2015 (94% mortality). Exposure measurements are based on a population-specific quantitative job-exposure matrix for rubber dust, rubber fumes and N-nitrosamines from the EU-EXASRUB project. Results Exposure (lifetime cumulative (LCE))-response associations were found for N-nitrosomorphiline and all cancers (subdistribution HR (SHR) 1.48, 95% CI 1.39 to 1.57) and cancers of the bladder, stomach, multiple myeloma, oesophagus, prostate and pancreas, as well as for N-nitrosodimethylamine and all cancers (SHR 2.08, 95% CI 1.96 to 2.21) and cancers of the bladder, stomach, leukaemia, multiple myeloma, prostate and l...

BMC public health, Feb 15, 2018

Exposure to sunlight can have both positive and negative health impacts. Excessive exposure to ul... more Exposure to sunlight can have both positive and negative health impacts. Excessive exposure to ultra-violet (UV) radiation from the sun can cause skin cancer, however insufficient exposure to sunlight has a detrimental effect on production of Vitamin D. In the construction industry there are onsite proactive behaviours for safety, but sun-safety remains a low priority. There is limited research on understanding the barriers to adopting sun-safe behaviours and the association this may have with Vitamin D production. This paper reports a protocol for an intervention study, using text messaging in combination with a supportive smartphone App. The intervention aims to both reduce UV exposure during months with higher UV levels and promote appropriate dietary changes to boost Vitamin D levels during months with low UV levels. Approximately 60 construction workers will be recruited across the United Kingdom. A randomised control crossover trial (RCCT) will be used to test the intervention...

Applied Occupational and Environmental Hygiene, 2001

In the United Kingdom the Health and Safety Executive for some years has stored chemical exposure... more In the United Kingdom the Health and Safety Executive for some years has stored chemical exposure data in their National Exposure Database. However, it has been difficult to persuade industry and other organizations to contribute to this resource. The aim of this project was to devise a cost-effective method of obtaining occupational exposure data on chemicals from U.K. industry and other sources. Five strategies were used to identify data for three different substances: toluene, acrylonitrile, and ethylene oxide. In total, 810 organizations were contacted and over 45 percent responded. However, only 40 had relevant exposure data. Almost equal numbers of acceptable measurements were identified for toluene and acrylonitrile (2,770 and 2,000 respectively) with lesser ethylene oxide data (800). These measurements were drawn from a wide range of industries and are probably representative of measurements made by U.K. industry, although most of the data were from companies employing more than 100 people. During the second phase of the project, more than 3,000 measurements and associated contextual information were collected (499 for toluene, 1,516 for acrylonitrile, and 17 for ethylene oxide, with a further 1,004 measurements for 1 of 27 substances collected simultaneously with one of the above). The costs of identifying and collecting exposure data ranged from ł7 to ł380 per valid measurement, depending on the source of the data. We suggest that, rather than trying to retrospectively collect data, it is likely to be more cost-effective to enlist a number of occupational hygiene consults and industrial organizations to prospectively provide anonymized exposure measurements for inclusion in the Health and Safety Executives National Exposure Database.