Human and Animal Rights

The Journal of Diabetes, Metabolism and Endocrinology is committed to protecting the rights, dignity, privacy, safety, and welfare of human participants and animals involved in research. All research submitted to the journal must comply with applicable ethical requirements and recognized international standards.

The journal follows relevant guidance from the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE) and the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) concerning ethical oversight, human participants, informed consent, confidentiality, vulnerable populations, and animal research. ICMJE currently recommends that human research comply with the Declaration of Helsinki as revised in 2024 and that authors obtain appropriate independent ethics review.

1. Research Involving Human Participants

Research involving human participants must be conducted in accordance with recognized ethical principles, applicable laws, institutional requirements, and appropriate international standards.

Authors must obtain approval from an appropriate:

Institutional Review Board (IRB)
Research Ethics Committee
Institutional Ethics Committee
Local, regional, or national ethics authority

as applicable to the research.

The manuscript should identify the approving body and provide the approval/reference number where available. The journal may request documentary evidence of ethical approval at any stage of editorial consideration.

ICMJE states that authors should be prepared to provide documentation of ethics approval when requested by editors.

2. Informed Consent

Appropriate informed consent must be obtained from human participants when required by the study design, applicable regulations, or ethical standards.

Participants should be adequately informed about the nature and purpose of the research, relevant procedures, potential risks, benefits, and their rights as research participants.

Where consent is appropriately waived by an authorized ethics committee, authors should state this and provide the relevant justification where appropriate.

3. Privacy and Confidentiality

The privacy and confidentiality of research participants must be protected.

Authors should not publish unnecessary identifying information, including:

Names or initials
Hospital or medical record numbers
Addresses
Identifiable photographs
Other information that could reasonably reveal an individual's identity

Where identifiable information is scientifically necessary, appropriate written consent for publication should be obtained.

ICMJE specifically emphasizes that patient privacy should not be violated without informed consent and recommends omitting nonessential identifying details.

4. Vulnerable Populations

Research involving vulnerable populations requires additional safeguards.

Authors should demonstrate that appropriate measures were taken to protect participants who may have limited autonomy or increased susceptibility to coercion or undue influence.

Examples may include children, individuals with impaired decision-making capacity, prisoners, and other populations requiring additional ethical protection.

5. Human Biological Materials and Data

Research involving human tissues, biological specimens, medical records, databases, or previously collected human data must comply with applicable ethical and legal requirements.

Authors should clearly state, where applicable:

Whether ethical approval was obtained.
Whether informed consent was obtained or appropriately waived.
Whether data or specimens were anonymized or de-identified.
Any restrictions governing the use or sharing of the material.

6. Research Involving Animals

Research involving animals must comply with applicable institutional, national, and international standards for the care and use of laboratory animals.

Authors should provide an appropriate statement confirming compliance with relevant animal-welfare requirements and identify the approving institutional or ethics body where applicable.

ICMJE recommends that reports of animal experiments indicate whether institutional and national standards for the care and use of laboratory animals were followed.

7. Animal Welfare

The journal expects authors to take appropriate measures to:

Minimize pain, distress, and suffering.
Use animals only when scientifically justified.
Apply appropriate humane endpoints.
Use appropriate anesthesia or analgesia where required.
Follow approved housing, handling, and experimental procedures.
Use alternatives to animal experimentation where scientifically and ethically appropriate.

The journal may request evidence of animal ethics approval or relevant institutional documentation.

8. Ethical Approval for Animal Studies

Where required, animal research must receive prior approval from an appropriate institutional animal-care or ethics committee.

The manuscript should provide the relevant approval information, including the name of the approving body and approval/reference number where applicable.

Failure to demonstrate appropriate ethical oversight may result in rejection.

9. Editorial Assessment of Ethical Compliance

Ethical approval by an institution does not prevent the journal from independently considering whether the reported research meets appropriate ethical standards.

ICMJE explicitly recognizes that editors may form their own judgment regarding the ethical appropriateness of research even where approval has been granted by a responsible review body.

Editors may therefore request clarification, supporting documentation, or additional ethical review where concerns arise.

10. Right to Reject on Ethical Grounds

The Journal of Diabetes, Metabolism and Endocrinology reserves the right to reject a manuscript at any stage if the research does not meet appropriate ethical standards.

Grounds for rejection may include:

Absence of required ethical approval.
Failure to obtain required informed consent.
Violation of participant privacy or confidentiality.
Inadequate protection of vulnerable participants.
Unacceptable animal welfare practices.
Misrepresentation of ethical approval.
Inadequate documentation of ethical oversight.
Evidence of unethical research conduct.
Serious breaches of applicable laws, regulations, or institutional requirements.

Ethical concerns may result in rejection regardless of the manuscript's scientific quality.

11. Post-Publication Ethical Concerns

If significant concerns regarding human or animal rights are identified after publication, the journal may investigate the matter and take appropriate action to protect the integrity of the scientific record.

Depending on the circumstances, actions may include:

Correction
Editorial clarification
Expression of Concern
Retraction

The journal may also contact the relevant institution, ethics committee, or responsible authority where appropriate.

12. COPE and ICMJE Compliance

The journal incorporates relevant COPE ethical-oversight principles, which include policies concerning consent to publication, vulnerable populations, ethical conduct of research involving humans and animals, and handling confidential data.

The journal also follows applicable ICMJE Recommendations, including its current guidance on protection of research participants, informed consent, ethical review, confidentiality, and animal research.

13. Author Responsibility

Authors are ultimately responsible for ensuring that their research has been conducted ethically and that all required approvals and consents have been obtained.

By submitting a manuscript, authors confirm that:

Human participants' rights and welfare were protected.
Appropriate informed consent was obtained where required.
Participant confidentiality was maintained.
Required ethical approval was obtained.
Animals were treated according to applicable welfare standards.
Ethical information provided to the journal is accurate and complete.

The Journal of Diabetes, Metabolism and Endocrinology considers respect for human rights, participant protection, and animal welfare fundamental conditions for responsible medical and biomedical publishing.