Article information
Resumen
:El término conflicto de intereses se aplica, entre otras, a aquellas situaciones en que la validez e integridad de la investigación puede estar influida por un interés secundario, típicamente un beneficio económico, pero también un posicionamiento ideológico u otros intereses personales o profesionales. En este trabajo se describen y discuten algunas de las formas de conflicto de intereses —particularmente el relacionado con la publicación de trabajos de investigación clínica y epidemiológica financiados por la industria— y los intentos de regulación de este problema por parte de las revistas médicas, incluyendo referencias a la situación en España.
El conflicto de interés no es sinónimo de fraude científico ni malpraxis en investigación, pero en la literatura médica existe suficiente evidencia para considerarlo una importante fuente de sesgos. La forma usual de enfrentar el conflicto de intereses es hacerlos públicos, de forma que los lectores puedan juzgar por sí mismos su importancia. Las políticas editoriales de las revistas españolas se hallan, en general, lejos de darle importancia al conflicto de intereses, aspecto que podría favorecer una actitud de los investigadores —para mantener la financiación u obtener nuevos contratos— innecesariamente supeditada a los intereses de las empresas.
Palabras clave:
Conflicto de intereses
Financiación de la investigación
Sesgo de publicación
Abstract
Abstract
:The term conflict of interests is applied to those situations in which the research validity and integrity may be influenced by a secondary interest, typically an economic benefit, but also an ideological, personal or professional interest. In this work we describe some ways of conflict of interests —particularly those related with the publication of clinical and epidemiological research supported by the industry— and the regulation of this problem from medical journals, including references to the situation in Spain.
The conflict of interest is not synonymous of scientific fraud neither malpraxis in research, but in the medical literature there exists enough evidence to consider it as an important source of biases. The usual form of facing the conflict of interests is to make it public, so that readers can judge its importance. The editorial policies of the Spanish journals are, in general, far from giving importance to this problem, an aspect which could favor an attitude of the investigators, to maintain funding or to obtain new contracts, unnecessarily subordinated to the interests of the companies.
Key words:
Conflict of interest
Research support
Publication bias
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