A conflict of interest is any influence on an investigator or author that could sway his or her judgment or decisions concerning the investigator’s or author’s research, such as the valid reporting of data or its analysis or interpretation. Potential conflicts of interest include: professional or financial gain; personal or academic relationships or competition; religious, philosophical, or political beliefs; or any factor that prevents the independent preparation or publishing of a manuscript.

The public perception of a conflict of interest is similarly as harmful as an actual conflict of interest. Authors are responsible for reporting any potential or actual conflict of interest upon first submission of a manuscript, with appropriate changes as appropriate in further revisions, if appropriate. A conflict of interest statement should include all sources of financial support (for example, sponsors, and grant numbers) other support for the study (such as collecting, analyzing, or interpreting data), writing or revising the manuscript, or any factor that limited (or will limit in the future) the investigators’ full access to the data and its analysis.