Nutrients
Ferritin
Serum ferritin
Included in every MyHealthspan membership: Focus, Baseline, and Complete.
Compare membershipsFerritin reflects the iron your body has stored.
Ferritin is a protein that stores iron, and the small amount in your blood reflects how much iron your body has in reserve. It's one of the most informative tests for assessing your iron stores.
Ferritin can rise for reasons other than iron.
A low ferritin points fairly clearly to depleted iron stores. Common reasons include heavy periods, pregnancy, frequent blood donation, a diet low in iron, or blood loss from the digestive tract.
A high ferritin is harder to read. Ferritin also rises with inflammation, infection, liver disease, heavy alcohol use, and metabolic conditions such as fatty liver, so a high result doesn't always mean too much iron. Transferrin saturation helps tell these apart.
Low ferritin is clear. High ferritin needs context.
Questions
Can my ferritin look normal if my iron is low?
Yes, it can. Inflammation raises ferritin, so someone with an infection or a chronic inflammatory condition can have low iron stores and a ferritin within the lab's reference range. Your clinician may look at transferrin saturation, serum iron, and hsCRP to sort this out.
What happens if my result is out of range?
A licensed nurse practitioner reviews your results, and an out-of-range ferritin is read with your other iron markers, blood counts, and health history. Next steps depend on the likely cause, such as looking for blood loss or checking for iron overload.