Declaration of competing interests

Authors should also declare any competing interests they may have, that may influence details of the paper or interpretation of it.

Disclose all potential financial and non-financial competing interests that might be perceived to influence your professional judgement about your work

Declaring competing interests is intended to enhance transparency, and does not necessarily imply any bias in the work.

If you are in doubt as to whether a relationship constitutes a competing interest, it is preferable to declare it.

In accordance with the details of the ICMJE Disclosure of Interest Statement, competing interests may involve:

  • All support provided during the planning and preparation of the current manuscript under submission (e.g., funding, provision of study materials, medical writing, article processing charges, etc.)

Details of relationships or activity over the past 36 months:

  • Grants or contracts from any entity
  • Royalties or licenses
  • Consulting fees
  • Payment or honoraria for lectures, presentations, speakers bureaus, manuscript writing or educational events
  • Payment for expert testimony
  • Support for attending meetings and/or travel
  • Patents planned, issued or pending
  • Participation on a Data Safety Monitoring Board or Advisory Board
  • Leadership or fiduciary role in other board, society, committee or advocacy group, paid or unpaid
  • Stock or stock options
  • Receipt of equipment, materials, drugs, medical writing, gifts or other services
  • Other financial or non-financial interests

Authors and journal editors may download the EASE Form for Authors’ Contributions and Conflict of Interest Disclosure, to provide contribution and competing interest statements to journals alongside your submissions.