Research In Brief

Conflict-of-interest disclosure: Editorial in Oct. 15 New England Journal of Medicine outlines new disclosure requirements for study authors, which will be adopted by all members of the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors. Under the new 1disclosure form, authors are asked to divulge four types of information: associations with commercial entities that provided support for the work reported in the submitted manuscript; associations with entities that could be viewed as having an interest in the general area of the submitted manuscript; similar financial associations involving spouses or children under 18 years old; and non-financial associations that may be relevant to the submitted manuscript. Because the new disclosure form has only been "use tested" by ICMJE member journals and may need adjustments, Oct. 15 to April 10, 2010, will be considered a beta-testing period, the editorial says