Conflicts of interest

A conflict of interest exists where professional judgement about the work could reasonably be influenced by a secondary interest. It is a matter of circumstance, not of character: having one is common and is not misconduct. Failing to declare one is.

This policy follows the ICMJE disclosure requirements and COPE guidance, and applies to authors, reviewers, editors, board members and publishing staff.

What must be declared

Financial interests: employment or consultancy; grants and research funding; honoraria, speaker fees and travel support; paid expert testimony; patents applied for or granted; royalties; shareholdings, stock options and other equity; membership of a speakers’ bureau or advisory board; gifts and equipment.

Non-financial interests: personal relationships or rivalries with anyone involved; institutional affiliations that bear on the work; membership of an organisation with an interest in the outcome; strongly held positions, political or religious, that a reader might reasonably think relevant; unpublished work of your own that competes.

The test is not whether you believe you were influenced. It is whether a reasonable reader, learning of the interest later, might question the work.

Period covered

Disclose interests held during the study and for the 36 months before submission, plus anything pending, in line with the ICMJE disclosure form.

Authors

All authors complete a disclosure. A statement appears in every published article, including where there is nothing to declare, in which case it reads that the authors declare no competing interests. Funding is stated separately with grant numbers and the funder’s role, if any, in design, collection, analysis, interpretation, writing or the decision to submit.

Where a study is funded by an organisation with a commercial interest in the outcome, the article must state whether the funder had any right of review or veto over publication. We do not publish research subject to a sponsor’s right to suppress the findings.

Reviewers

Reviewers must decline where they have a conflict, and must disclose to the editor any interest that falls short of requiring a decline. Reviewers must not use knowledge of a manuscript to advance their own work or to delay a competitor.

Editors and board members

Editors declare their interests to the publisher and must not handle any manuscript where a conflict exists. Handovers are recorded so independence can be demonstrated. Editors’ own submissions are handled entirely independently and the arrangement is stated in the published article. See [For editors](/for-editors).

Publisher

The publisher declares any interest bearing on a journal’s content and, in every case, exercises no influence over acceptance. Advertising and sponsorship are handled separately from editorial. See [advertising and sponsorship](/advertising-and-sponsorship).

Undisclosed conflicts discovered later

Where an undisclosed interest comes to light after publication, the editor assesses whether it materially affects the interpretation. Depending on the finding, we publish a correction adding the declaration, an expression of concern, or — where the omission undermines the article’s reliability — a retraction. The authors’ institution may be notified.