Authors must disclose relevant financial and non-financial relationships, including:
- Employment, consultancies and honoraria
- Grants
- Stock ownership
- Patents
- Personal or professional relationships
- Academic rivalry
- Strongly held intellectual commitments
Funding sources and the sponsor’s role in design, conduct, analysis, writing and publication must be stated.
Reviewer and Editor Disclosure
Reviewers and editors must disclose conflicts promptly and decline involvement when impartiality may be compromised. The journal may publish disclosure statements, replace a reviewer or editor, or take post-publication action if an important conflict was omitted.
A declared interest does not automatically imply wrongdoing, but transparency is required.