What to know about ferritin blood tests for anemia

 Ferritin is a protein in blood cells that stores iron. A doctor may order a ferritin blood test, sometimes alongside other tests, to check a person’s iron levels.

In this article, we discuss the ferritin blood test procedure and how to interpret the results.

We also explain how people can raise or lower their blood ferritin levels.

What is a ferritin blood test?

Doctors use ferritin blood tests to check the levels of iron in a person’s blood and help diagnose many health conditions. These conditions include:

• iron-deficiency anemia, or a low red blood cell count
• hemochromatosis, a condition wherein there is too much iron in the body
• restless legs syndrome

People who have one of these conditions may require regular ferritin blood tests to monitor their health.

A doctor may also order other blood tests to discover more about a person’s iron stores. They may test for:

• blood iron levels
• hemoglobin levels, to check red blood cell numbers
• the HFE gene, which indicates hemochromatosis
• total iron binding capacity, which measures levels of transferrin, a protein that carries ferritin around the body

What do the results mean?

After a doctor takes the blood sample, they will send it to a laboratory for testing. Once the laboratory technicians analyze the blood, they will typically send the results back within a few days of the test.

Ferritin blood test results may come back as normal, low, or high. The following sections discuss what these results mean.

Normal ferritin levels

Results will be given in nanograms per milliliter (ng/mL) of blood and can vary slightly from one laboratory to another.

According to some sources, the normal ranges for ferritin in the blood are as follows:

Group	ng/mL
Adult males	20–250
Adult females	10–120
Females over 40	12–263
Newborns	25–200
Infants aged 1 month	200–600
Infants aged 2–5 months	50–200
Children aged 6 months to 15 years	7–140

Other sources provide slightly different levels, with some research from 2008Trusted Source suggesting that some laboratories consider ferritin levels over 200 ng/mL in women and 300 ng/mL in men to be abnormal.

It is important that people confirm normal levels with their doctor or the laboratory that tested them.

Low ferritin levels

A result of low ferritin is strong evidenceTrusted Source of an iron deficiency. The body requires iron to make hemoglobin, which is a protein in red blood cells that transfers oxygen from the lungs around the body.

Without enough iron, a person may develop anemia.

Iron is also necessary for:

• growth and development
• normal metabolism
• the production of hormones

Iron-deficiency anemia can cause the following:

• dizziness
• fatigue
• headache
• irregular heartbeat
• pale skin
• shortness of breath
• weakness

Mild anemia may not produce any symptoms.

High ferritin levels

Higher-than-normal ferritin levels may result from:

• hemochromatosis
• chronic inflammatory conditions, such as rheumatoid arthritis
• heavy alcohol use
• Hodgkin lymphoma, a cancer that affects the lymphatic system
• hyperthyroidism, wherein the thyroid gland produces too much thyroid hormone
• leukemia, a cancer of the bone marrow
• liver disease
• porphyria, a group of disorders that affects the skin and nervous system

People who have had several blood transfusions may also display high ferritin levels.

A result of above-normal ferritin levels will require further testing to discover the underlying cause and help doctors determine the best course of treatment.

Source: Medical News Today