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?