Table 2.

Journals policies on peer-reviewers’ conflicts of interest

1) The journal has a specific policy on reviewers’ COI: 11/43 (25 %)

2) Reviewers are required to explicitly state whether they have potential COI: 10/43 (23 %)

3) Reviewers must submit a written attestation of potential COI: 7/43 (16 %)

4) Frequency of request to disclose potential COI: only first invitation: 7/46 (15 %); always: 10/46 (22 %); yearly: 5/46 (11 %)

5) Specific procedures are followed to verify that peer-reviewers’ COI disclosures are accurate: 5/44 (11 %)

6) It is suggested to reviewers that they “decline” the invitation if potential COI exists: 21/39 (54 %)

7) There is a policy for “recusal” of reviewers with a declared COI: 6/42 (14 %)

8) Peer-reviewers’ COI are always published: 1/44 (2 %)

9) Editors decide, on an individual basis, when reviewers’ COI should be published: 20/44 (45 %)

10) If reviewers’ COI are not published, the information is made available upon request: 15/46 (33 %)

COI conflicts of interest