Conflicts of Interest

Kidneys follows the conflict of interest principles of the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE), the World Association of Medical Editors (WAME), and COPE.

A conflict of interest exists when authors, reviewers, or editors have financial, personal, academic, or institutional relationships that could influence, or appear to influence, the conduct, interpretation, or publication of research.

Declaring a conflict of interest does not imply wrongdoing; however, failing to disclose one is a serious breach of publishing ethics.

1. Author Responsibilities

All authors must disclose any financial or non-financial relationships that could be perceived as influencing the research.
Examples include:

1.1 Financial Conflicts

  • Funding or research sponsorship

  • Grants and contracts

  • Consulting fees

  • Lecture honoraria

  • Employment or leadership roles

  • Stock ownership or stock options

  • Payment for expert testimony

  • Receipt of equipment, drugs, or materials

1.2 Non-Financial Conflicts

  • Academic or intellectual beliefs

  • Personal relationships

  • Institutional affiliations

  • Competing commitments, advocacy positions, editorial roles, etc.

A Conflict of Interest Disclosure Form (ICMJE standard) must be completed by each author at submission.

2. Reviewer Responsibilities

Reviewers must:

  • Disclose any conflicts that may bias their evaluation

  • Decline to review if they have financial, personal, or academic conflicts

  • Maintain confidentiality of all submitted materials

3. Editor Responsibilities

Editors must:

  • Declare and avoid handling manuscripts where a conflict exists

  • Ensure that decisions are based solely on scientific merit

  • Assign independent editors when necessary

Editorial board members should not be involved in decisions about their own manuscripts.

3.1 Editorial Board Submissions

In cases where an article is authored by a member of the Editorial Board or the Editor-in-Chief, the conflict of interest must be clearly stated in the declaration. Such manuscripts will be handled and overseen by an independent guest editor, who will make the final decision, to avoid any appearance of bias.

4. How Conflicts Are Handled

If a conflict of interest is declared:

  • The journal will evaluate the nature and extent of the conflict

  • A statement will be included in the published article

  • If undisclosed conflicts are discovered post-publication, the journal may issue:

    • a correction,

    • an editorial note,

    • or a retraction in severe cases

5. Disclosure Form

The journal uses the official ICMJE Disclosure Form, which must be completed by all authors at submission.
The form covers all relevant relationships within the past 36 months, including all support received for the work.

A blank copy of the form is available here:
  Disclosure of Interest Form