Ferritin in Serum

The most sensitive marker of iron storage and also an indicator of inflammation.
Also known as:
S-ferritin
.
Do not confuse with serum Iron (Fe).
Video explainer of this page

Ferritin ranges for

Interpret your result
"Normal" lab range for Ferritin is between 22 and 500 µg/L for males:
0
22
500
According to Peter Attia, Ferritin should be between 30 and 400 µg/L:
0
30
400
According to OptimalDX, Ferritin should be between 45 and 79 µg/L:
0
45
79
According to American Gastroenterological Association, Ferritin should be above 45 µg/L:
0
45
Symptomatic hemochromatosis was associated with Ferritin above 500 µg/L:
0
500
Unexplained fatigue and weakness was associated with Ferritin below 50 µg/L:
0
50
Hair loss was associated with Ferritin below 40 µg/L:
0
40
70
Restless Legs Syndrome was associated with Ferritin below 75 µg/L:
0
75
Increased all cause mortality was associated with Ferritin above 194 µg/L in males:
0
194
Optimal range
Optimal range for Ferritin seems to be between 60 and 110 µg/L:
0
40
60
110
200
This isn’t medical advice. Consult your healthcare provider.
Your interpretation
For low
For high

Possible reasons for high Ferritin:

  • Acute or chronic inflammation, independent of iron levels,
    In these cases, a high ferritin level does not accurately reflect iron stores: Inflammation, infection, liver disease (particularly non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH)/fatty liver), renal disease, alcohol excess, metabolic syndrome or malignancy.
    hsCRP can be used to exclude elevated ferritin caused by acute phase reactions.
    High ferritin with low transferrin saturation typically suggests inflammation rather than iron overload.
  • Excess dietary iron intake
    Transferrin saturation above 45% indicates iron overload.
  • Hyperthyroidism / Grave's disease
    All patients in the study experienced a decrease in serum ferritin levels with antithyroid drug therapy.
  • Genetic disorders like hemochromatosis and ferroportin disease
    Check your genetic report for iron panel or specifically these genes: MtF, L-ferritin, HFE, SLC11A3, FTL.

Possible consequences from high Ferritin:

  • Symptomatic hemochromatosis
    High ferritin only becomes symptomatic when levels exceed 500 µg/L. Symptoms include:
    Unexplained fatigue and weakness
    Joint pain
    Darkening of the skin / skin pigmentation
    Abdominal pain typically from the liver
    Cardiac arrhythmias
    Weight loss
    Diabetes due to iron accumulation in the pancreas
    Loss of libido and impotence

How to lower Ferritin:

  • It's important to determine the cause of elevated ferritin levels. The interventions outlined below are only for addressing iron overload:
  • Reduce dietary iron intake
    Check the labels of your supplements to ensure they do not contain iron (Fe).
    Alcohol enhances the absorption of iron
    Clams, beef liver and red meat are all high in heme iron
    Cast iron cookware significantly contributes to dietary iron intake
  • Phlebotomy (bloodletting)
    Consider blood donation. Depending on the country, you should not donate blood if your ferritin is above 400 µg/L.
    A blood donor loses about 250 mg of iron with each whole blood donation of 500 mL.
  • Chelation Therapy
    Medications that bind to iron and help remove it from the bloodstream can be used, especially in cases where phlebotomy is not possible.

Images:

Ferritin was associated with all cause mortality

Ferritin was associated with all cause mortality

Model 5 is the fully adjusted model. Significant results in bold
5,471 participants
Community dwellers aged ≥52 years from England.
Dataset: English Longitudinal Study of Ageing
High ferritin was associated with moderate rise in mortality

High ferritin was associated with moderate rise in mortality

Plasma ferritin cannot be reliably converted to serum ferritin.
8,988 participants
Randomly selected Danish population 20 to 80 years old followed up for 23 years.
Dataset: The Copenhagen City Heart Study
High ferritin was associated with moderate rise in mortality

High ferritin was associated with moderate rise in mortality

257,953 participants
Ferritin was not associated with all-cause mortality

Ferritin was not associated with all-cause mortality

However, all-cause mortality was inversely associated with transferrin saturation (%) in men.
5,695 participants
50 years or older men and postmenopausal women.

About the site author

My personal mission is to extend human lifespan by collectively adding 1 million years to people's lives.

Zsolt Szabo
Zsolt Szabo
Software Engineer, Biohacker, and Consultant for Longevity Clinics.

Please send me studies and feedback.

Any feedback is welcome at .
I am particularly interested in research on biomarkers linked to all-cause mortality or optimal reference ranges.