Conflicts of Interest

All AME journals follow COPE and ICMJE guidance on the declaration of conflicts of interest by authors, reviewers, and editors and the WAME policies on Conflict of Interest in Peer-Reviewed Medical Journals.

1. Participants
Conflicts of interest arise when an author (or the author’s institution), reviewer, editor, or editorial board member has financial or personal relationships with other individuals or organizations that could inappropriately influence their actions, leading to bias. The mere existence of such a relationship does not necessarily constitute an actual conflict of interest. The potential for a conflict of interest may exist regardless of whether an individual believes the relationship affects their judgment. Financial relationships (e.g., employment, consultancies, stock ownership, honoraria, paid expert testimony, patents) are the most readily identifiable conflicts of interest and are most likely to undermine the credibility of the journal, the authors, and the scientific value of the research.

According to COPE’s advice, transparency is key—if undisclosed, ‘a reasonable reader would feel misled or deceived’. Therefore, all individuals involved in the peer review process—including authors, editors, reviewers, and readers—must declare any potential competing interests that occurred within five years of conducting the research under consideration or preparing the article for publication.

Interests predating this five-year period must also be disclosed if they could reasonably be perceived as competing according to the definition above.

Failure to declare competing interests may result in immediate rejection of a manuscript. If an undisclosed competing interest comes to light after publication, we will take action in accordance with COPE guidelines and issue a public notification to the community. 

A. Authors
At the time of submission, authors must list all competing interests relevant to the submitted research. To facilitate and standardize disclosure, we require authors to use the disclosure form developed by the ICMJE. Examples of information to be disclosed include, but are not limited to:

  • Names of all funding sources
  • Description of the funder’s role in the study design; collection, analysis, and interpretation of data; writing of the manuscript; and/or the decision to submit for publication
  • Whether the author has previously served or currently serves on the editorial board of the journal to which the manuscript is being submitted
  • Whether the author has acted as an expert witness in relevant legal proceedings
  • Whether the author has previously served or currently serves on a committee for an organization that may benefit from the publication of the paper


B. Peer reviewers
When invited to review a manuscript, reviewers should be asked whether they have any relationships or activities that could complicate their review. Reviewers must disclose to the editors any relationships or activities that could bias their assessment of the manuscript and should recuse themselves from reviewing specific manuscripts if a potential for bias exists. Additionally, reviewers must not use knowledge of the work they are reviewing to further their own interests before its publication.

Common reasons for reviewers to recuse themselves from the peer review process may include but are not limited to:

  • Currently or recently working at the same institution or organization as an author
  • Currently or recently collaborating with an author
  • Having published with an author within the past five years
  • Currently or recently holding grants with an author
  • Having a financial relationship with the company that funded the research
  • Having a personal relationship with an author that precludes objective evaluation of the manuscript


C. Editors and Editorial Staff
Editors who make final decisions about manuscripts are recused from editorial decisions if they have relationships or activities that pose potential conflicts related to articles under consideration. Other editorial staff members who participate in editorial decisions must provide the editors with a current description of their relationships and activities (as they may relate to editorial judgments) and are recused from any decisions in which an interest posing a potential conflict exists. Editorial staff must not use information gained through working with manuscripts for private gain. Guest editors should follow these same procedures and are recused from having any role in the peer review of all manuscripts included in the special series they lead to avoid potential conflicts of interest.

Further guidance is available from COPE (https://publicationethics.org/guidance/guideline/short-guide-ethical-editing- new-editors) and WAME (https://wame.org/conflict-of-interest-in-peer-reviewed-medical-journals).

Common reasons for editors to recuse themselves from the peer review process include, but are not limited to:

  • Currently or recently working at the same institution or organization as an author
  • Currently or recently collaborating with an author
  • Having published with an author within the past five years
  • Currently or recently holding grants with an author
  • Having a financial relationship with the company that funded the research
  • Having a personal relationship with an author that precludes objective evaluation of the manuscript


2. Specific policies of manuscript to avoid conflicts of interest

1) Submission by an Editor
A paper submitted by an editor will be handled by another editor who has no conflict of interest with the review process and is not affiliated with the same institution as the submitting editor. The handling editor will select referees and make all decisions on the paper. In such circumstances, full masking of the process must be ensured to maintain the anonymity of the peer reviewers. Accordingly, the editor who submits the paper will not have access to the review records of their own manuscript.

2) Submission From the Same Institution
A paper submitted by an author from the same institution as one of the editors will be handled by another editor. The handling editor will select referees and make all decisions on the paper.

3) Personal Relationships
A paper submitted by a family member of an editor, or by an author whose relationship with an editor could create the perception of bias—such as close friendship or personal conflict or rivalry—will be handled by another editor. The handling editor will select referees and make all decisions on the paper. When in doubt, the editors will consult with the editor-in-chief of the journal.

3. Reporting Conflicts of Interest
All authors will be asked to fill in the ICMJE’s unified disclosure form (the latest version). The form can be downloaded at: https://cdn.amegroups.cn/static/public/coi_disclosure.docx. Each author should submit a separate form and is responsible for the accuracy and completeness of the submitted information. The corresponding author should use the information in the form completed by each author to create the COI statement for the manuscript. The statement (but not the forms) must be included along with the submission. The statement should include the initials of the author along with the conflicts of interest. The following examples show the format in which the Conflicts of Interest statement should appear in the manuscript:

“Conflicts of Interest: All authors have completed the ICMJE uniform disclosure form. The authors have no conflicts of interest to declare.”

“Conflicts of Interest: All authors have completed the ICMJE uniform disclosure form. KSS and VS are former employees of Scanco Medical AG. NV is a current employee of Scanco Medical AG. The other authors have no conflicts of interest to declare.”

If the paper is accepted, the completed ICMJE’s unified disclosure forms will be required and will be published alongside the article.

 

Updated on March 25, 2026