association was higher among men who had prior ischemic heart disease (RCR ¼ 1.13, 95% CI 1.02-1.24,P ¼ 0.016).Men with preexisting carotid artery stenosis also experienced a higher IMT progression (RCR ¼ 1.10, 95% CI 1.02-1.19,P ¼ 0.017).CONCLUSIONS: Daytime work including weekends appears to accelerate the progression of carotid atherosclerosis compared to standard daytime work among middle-aged Finnish men, especially among those with pre-existing CVD.We could neither demonstrate nor rule out any association between other work schedules and progression of carotid atherosclerosis.