Re: “Disclosure of interest: A time for clarity”

✍ Scribed by David V. Bates

• Publisher: John Wiley and Sons
• Year: 1995
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 48 KB
• Volume: 28
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0271-3586
• DOI: 10.1002/ajim.4700280508

✦ Synopsis

I note that the American Journal of Industrial Medicine has joined other journals in requesting information from authors on affiliations relevant to the subject matter discussed.

I strongly support such disclosures of interest. It is the practice of the National Academy of Sciences to require members appointed to their committees to declare their consultantships and other relationships, on the record, before the committee starts work. In court proceedings, it is customary for all such interests to be declared, or to be elicited by cross examination by counsel. I cannot imagine a judge ruling that such questions were out of order.

In these days when very large sums of money can be offered to press certain interpretations of scientific data, it is important that the naive reader should have advance notice of the possible partisanship of the authors. One does not have to subscribe to an unreasonable "conspiracy view" of our society to welcome this modest protection.