Indicator Explainer
Ferritin
The body’s iron-storage protein measurable in serum — the most informative single test of iron stores.
This page explains what the indicator is and how results are interpreted in general terms. Reference ranges depend on the laboratory, the method, and your own situation — no single “normal value” applies to everyone. This page is health information, not a diagnosis. For symptoms, treatment, or urgent concerns, contact a healthcare professional.
When it is tested
Measured in anaemia workups, fatigue investigations, iron-overload assessments, and monitoring of iron supplementation or iron-chelation therapy.
Reading results
Low ferritin is highly specific for depleted iron stores, but ferritin also rises with inflammation, liver disease, and alcohol use — so a normal or high value does not exclude deficiency in an inflamed patient, and paired measures such as CRP and transferrin saturation add meaning. Interpretation thresholds differ between laboratories and guidelines, and isolated values should not drive iron therapy without the full picture.
Questions to ask a professional
- Is any inflammatory illness or liver disease present that could raise ferritin?
- Were iron studies measured together (ferritin, transferrin saturation, CRP)?
- How has the value trended across serial measurements?
References
- Lab Tests Online — Ferritin
- Assessment of Serum Ferritin and Red Blood Cell Indices in Children with Severe Acute Malnutrition in a Tertiary Care Hospital in Jharkhand. — Ann Afr Med, 2026-10-07 (PMID 42844877; literature)
- Nav1.3 inhibition confers neuroprotection in traumatic brain injury by attenuating neuroinflammation and neuronal cell death via NCOA4-associated ferritin turnover. — Biochim Biophys Acta Mol Basis Dis, 2026-10-07 (PMID 42843772; literature)
- Ferritin nanocages limit stable albumin and fibrinogen adsorption on gold nanoparticles under microfluidic flow. — Chem Commun (Camb), 2026-10-06 (PMID 42717732; literature)
- Serum ferritin in children with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD): A systematic review and meta-analysis. — PLoS One, 2026-10-05 (PMID 42832553; literature)
- Sex- and age-specific daily and seasonal rhythms in haemoglobin and ferritin among Dutch blood donors. — Vox Sang, 2026-10-14 (PMID 42875053; literature)
- Macrophage-induced ferritin expression protects pancreatic cancer cells from ferroptosis. — Cell Rep, 2026-10-13 (PMID 42867991; literature)
- Ferritin screening in pregnancy. — Blood Adv, 2026-10-21 (PMID 42906181; literature)
- Genome-wide characterization of Ferritin gene family reveals BnaFER1.1 as a key regulator of salt stress tolerance in rapeseed (Brassica napus). — Plant Sci, 2026-10-16 (PMID 42887674; literature)