PT - JOURNAL ARTICLE AU - Thomas Ploug AU - Søren Holm TI - Conflict of interest disclosure and the polarisation of scientific communities AID - 10.1136/medethics-2014-102114 DP - 2015 Apr 01 TA - Journal of Medical Ethics PG - 356--358 VI - 41 IP - 4 4099 - http://jme.bmj.com/content/41/4/356.short 4100 - http://jme.bmj.com/content/41/4/356.full SO - J Med Ethics2015 Apr 01; 41 AB - In this article, we introduce and define the notion of polarised scientific communities. We show how polarisation may generate genuine conflicts of interest that require specific efforts to be identified and reported, and suggest a simple heuristic for the identification and reporting of the polarisation of research. We use examples from the debates about breast cancer screening and the prescription of statins to people at low risk of heart disease.