Why Review Articles on the Health Effects of Passive Smoking Reach Different Conclusions
JAMAPublished 20 May 1998
Deborah E. Barnes
Citations430
SJR quartileQ1
SJR score5.35
SNIP10.71
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TL;DR
The conclusions of review articles on the health effects of passive smoking are strongly associated with the affiliations of their authors, and readers should consider authors' affiliations when deciding how to judge an article's conclusions.
Abstract
The conclusions of review articles are strongly associated with the affiliations of their authors. Authors of review articles should disclose potential financial conflicts of interest, and readers of review articles should consider authors' affiliations when deciding how to judge an article's conclusions.
Keywords
Social SciencesMedicine
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