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Objectives The aims of this study were to determine if there was an increased risk of incident cardiovascular disease (CVD) and diabetes and an increase in arterial stiffness in participants who reported working 41–54 h per week and more than 55 h compared to those who worked 40 h or less over a time interval of 5 years. Methods In a subsample of the population-based prospective Gutenberg Health Study (GHS) study, we examined working participants younger than 65 years at baseline (n = 7241) and after 5 years. To test the association of working time at baseline and incident cardiovascular events and diabetes type II, we estimated hazard ratios (HR) using competing risks models. For a change in the arterial stiffness index (SI) based on assessment using a Pulse Trace PCA2 device, we used multivariate linear regression models. Results The SI increased in those working more than 55 h per week (beta coefficiant = 0.32 m/s (95% CI 0.07–0.58) compared to those working 40 h and less after adjustment for sex, age and SES. Due to small numbers there was no significant association of working hours and clinically manifest cardiovascular events and diabetes type II in the 5-year follow-up time. Conclusions Further studies are needed to confirm the results on working hours and arterial stiffness. Analyses of the 10-year follow-up with more events may clarify the results for incident cardiovascular events and metabolic outcomes.

Objectives Following an exploratory approach, we examined cardiovascular disease risk factors at baseline and the 5-year incidence proportion of self-reported doctor-diagnosed cardiovascular diseases (CVD) in teachers and other occupational groups of the Gutenberg Health Study. Methods Study participants lived in the region of Mainz, Germany. Data from 6510 working participants without prevalent CVD at baseline (2007–2012) were analyzed. Participants were teachers (n = 215), other professionals from the health, social or educational (HSE) fields (n = 1061) or worked outside the HSE fields (n = 5234). For occupational comparisons, we estimated prevalence ratios (PR) for each CVD risk factor at baseline with robust Poisson regression analyses. We calculated crude CVD incidence rates based on the observed 5-year CVD cumulative incidence at follow-up and estimated age-weighted incidence proportions. All analyses were stratified by sex. Results Male non-HSE workers showed a higher prevalence of smoking and physical inactivity than male teachers (PR 2.26; 95%-CI: 1.06–4.82/PR 1.89; 95%-CI: 1.24–2.87). In contrast, non-HSE workers and other HSE professionals were less likely to have reported an unhealthy alcohol intake than teachers. Differences were attenuated after SES-adjustment. We did not detect occupational group-specific differences in CVD incidence. However, there were only two cases of CVD among the teachers. Conclusion Particularly male teachers showed a healthier lifestyle regarding physical inactivity and smoking. Nevertheless, occupational-medical care practitioners and researchers need to be aware of the relatively heightened prevalence of unhealthy alcohol intake in female and male teachers, and in absolute terms, the high hypertension prevalence in male teachers.