Is ferritin the same as iron stores?

Ferritin isn’t the same thing as iron in your body. Instead, ferritin is a protein that stores iron, releasing it when your body needs it. Ferritin usually lives in your body’s cells, with very little actually circulating in your blood.

What are normal ferritin stores?

The normal range for ferritin in your blood serum is: 20 to 250 ng/mL for adult males. 10 to 120 ng/mL for adult females, 18 to 39 years.

What is a good iron ferritin level?

The normal range for ferritin is usually between 30 and 300 ng/mL, but Dr. Friedman recommends iron treatment for everyone with a ferritin less than 60 ng/mL.

What level of ferritin is iron deficiency?

A diagnosis of iron deficiency can be made in these conditions, regardless of whether anemia is present, if serum ferritin is <100 μg/L or TSAT is <20%, using TSAT to confirm iron deficiency if serum ferritin is between 100 and 300 μg/L [4, 5].

Can you have low ferritin but high iron?

Lower than normal results In early stages of iron deficiency anemia, your body may have a low amount of ferritin but a normal amount of iron in the blood and will still be able to make healthy red blood cells. You may have few or no symptoms of anemia at this point.

Can you have normal ferritin but low iron?

Although serum ferritin remains a cost-effective and valuable screening test for iron deficiency, a limitation of serum ferritin is that normal levels may be found despite iron deficiency in many common clinical conditions including chronic infection or inflammation, chronic liver disease, and malignancy.

Why is my iron normal but ferritin low?

In early stages of iron deficiency anemia, your body may have a low amount of ferritin but a normal amount of iron in the blood and will still be able to make healthy red blood cells. You may have few or no symptoms of anemia at this point.

What can cause ferritin levels to drop?

Alterations in thyroid status and activity can result in changes in blood ferritin levels [20]. Subclinical hypothyroidism is associated with iron-deficiency anemia and lower ferritin levels [10, 21].

Why is my iron normal but ferritin high?

Higher than normal results Elevated ferritin levels can also be due to something other than iron overload. Ferritin is an important marker of inflammation in the body, so ferritin levels can be elevated anytime a person has an inflammatory condition, such as an underlying infection.