Ferritin
Ferritin reflects your body's iron stores. Low levels indicate iron deficiency (even before anaemia develops), while very high levels may suggest iron overload, inflammation, or liver disease.
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What the Ferritin test tells you
Ferritin is the protein shell your cells use to store iron safely. Iron is essential but chemically reactive, so the body locks it inside ferritin in the liver, spleen and bone marrow rather than leaving it loose. A small amount of ferritin leaks into the bloodstream in proportion to how much iron is stored, which is why serum ferritin is the single best routine indicator of your iron reserves. It also falls early: stores are drawn down well before haemoglobin drops, so ferritin can reveal iron depletion before anaemia has developed.
The important complication is that ferritin is also an acute-phase reactant. Its production rises during inflammation, infection, recent surgery, liver disease, excess alcohol, obesity and some cancers, entirely independently of iron. This means a normal or even high ferritin does not rule out iron deficiency when inflammation is present, and it is the most common reason a deficiency is missed. Doctors work around it by reading ferritin alongside a marker of inflammation such as CRP, together with transferrin saturation and the full blood count.
A high ferritin is interpreted the other way around. True iron overload, from hereditary haemochromatosis or repeated transfusions, does raise it, but inflammation and fatty liver disease are far more common explanations in everyday practice. Separating them relies on transferrin saturation and, when overload remains likely, genetic testing or imaging. A low ferritin, by contrast, is close to conclusive for depleted stores, and in an adult it always deserves an explanation, because the underlying cause of the loss matters as much as the number.
Essential for diagnosing iron deficiency anaemia, monitoring iron supplementation, and investigating iron overload conditions like haemochromatosis.
- Earliest marker of depletion
Ferritin falls before haemoglobin does, so it can identify iron deficiency at a stage when the blood count still looks normal.
- Investigating anaemia
It is the key test for deciding whether an anaemia is caused by lack of iron rather than by another mechanism.
- Monitoring iron treatment
Stores refill more slowly than haemoglobin recovers, so ferritin is what shows whether a course of iron has actually replenished reserves.
- Assessing possible overload
A persistently high ferritin prompts your doctor to look for iron overload, liver disease or ongoing inflammation.
Reasons your doctor may request the Ferritin test
Your doctor may order this test for any of the reasons below. Some are routine checks, others follow specific symptoms or an earlier result.
Anaemia & its symptoms
- Anaemia or a falling haemoglobin found on a blood count.
- Symptoms under investigation such as breathlessness on exertion, restless legs or reduced exercise tolerance.
Diet, blood loss & absorption
- Heavy menstrual bleeding, pregnancy, or frequent blood donation.
- A vegetarian or vegan diet, or a condition affecting absorption such as coeliac disease or previous gastric surgery.
Iron treatment & iron overload
- Monitoring oral iron tablets or an intravenous iron infusion.
- A family history of haemochromatosis, or a raised transferrin saturation found on other tests.
Ferritin describes your iron stores rather than the iron circulating in your blood. A result in the "Low" ng/mL band means those stores are depleted, and in an adult that always needs a cause: menstrual or gastrointestinal blood loss, low dietary iron, coeliac disease or other malabsorption, pregnancy, or frequent blood donation. A "Normal" ng/mL result usually means healthy stores, but ferritin rises with inflammation, so a normal or "High" ng/mL figure does not settle the question when infection, liver disease or excess weight is in the picture; this is why it is read beside a marker such as CRP. A high reading is more often explained by inflammation or fatty liver than by true iron overload, and recent iron tablets, an iron infusion or a transfusion shortly before the sample also lift it. Your doctor interprets the value with your blood count, your symptoms and your history.
Medically reviewed by Dr Nirupama Sabhapathy
Ranges are a guide: your physician interprets your result alongside your symptoms and history.
What a higher result can point to
- Iron overload from hereditary haemochromatosis or repeated blood transfusions.
- Inflammation or infection of any kind, since ferritin behaves as an acute-phase protein.
- Liver disease, including fatty liver, hepatitis and alcohol-related injury.
- Obesity and metabolic syndrome, which produce a chronic low-grade inflammatory state.
- Some cancers, particularly lymphoma, and rare severe immune-activation syndromes.
- Recent iron supplementation, an iron infusion or a transfusion shortly before the sample.
What a lower result can point to
- Chronic blood loss, most often menstrual or from the gastrointestinal tract.
- Insufficient dietary iron, particularly on a diet with little or no meat.
- Malabsorption from coeliac disease, gastric or bariatric surgery, or long-standing gastritis.
- Increased demand during pregnancy, breastfeeding, childhood growth or endurance training.
- Frequent blood donation without adequate iron replacement.
These are possibilities, not diagnoses. A single value outside the reference range is interpreted alongside your symptoms, history and other tests: your doctor decides what it means for you.
What this test cannot tell you
- Ferritin is an acute-phase reactant, so inflammation, infection, liver disease and malignancy raise it independently of iron; a normal or high result therefore does not exclude iron deficiency when inflammation is present.
- No single ferritin result establishes iron overload, which needs transferrin saturation, a repeat measurement and often genetic testing before it can be addressed.
- The test shows that stores are low but never why, so a low result in an adult always requires the cause of the loss to be investigated.
Risks of the blood draw
- Mild bruising or brief soreness where the needle went in.
- Occasional lightheadedness, which settles after a few minutes of rest.
- Bleeding or infection at the site, which is rare with sterile single-use equipment.
- 1Ferritin reflects stored iron rather than the iron circulating in your blood at that moment.
- 2It falls before haemoglobin, making it the earliest routine sign of iron depletion.
- 3It rises with inflammation, so it is read alongside a marker such as CRP.
- 4A high result is more often explained by inflammation or fatty liver than by true iron overload.
- 5A low ferritin in an adult always needs a cause to be identified, not just supplements.
Ferritin is also part of these health checkups, which add a wider screen in the same appointment.
Ferritin also comes in these focused packages, which pair it with the tests usually read alongside it.
- BiochemistryIron Studies
Iron studies measure serum iron, total iron binding capacity (TIBC) and transferrin saturation: a panel that shows how much iron is circulating and…
89View - BiochemistryIron
Serum iron measures the amount of circulating iron in your blood. Low levels suggest iron deficiency, while high levels may indicate iron overload.…
25View - BiochemistryTotal Iron Binding Capacity (TIBC)
TIBC measures the blood's total capacity to bind and transport iron via transferrin. High TIBC suggests iron deficiency, while low TIBC may indicate…
40View - HaematologyComplete Blood Count (CBC)
The CBC is the most commonly ordered blood test. It measures red blood cells, white blood cells, haemoglobin, haematocrit, and platelets to assess…
35View
Frequently Asked Questions
Everything you need to know about the Ferritin test. Can't find what you're looking for?
Talk to our team→Our laboratory reports 30 to 300 ng/mL as normal. Below 30 ng/mL points to depleted iron stores. Above 300 ng/mL is reported as high, and is most often due to inflammation, fatty liver or alcohol rather than true iron overload.
Tiredness, lower exercise tolerance, breathlessness on exertion, headaches, brittle nails, hair shedding and restless legs are typical. They can appear before haemoglobin falls, so a normal blood count does not rule out low iron stores.
Ferritin reflects stored iron. Serum iron is iron in transit at that moment, and it swings with meals, supplements and time of day. Ferritin is the better single test of stores; serum iron is read with transferrin saturation as part of an iron panel.
They do not affect the test, but drinking them with meals reduces how much iron you absorb from food. If your ferritin is low, your doctor may suggest keeping tea and coffee apart from meals and iron tablets, and pairing iron-rich foods with a source of vitamin C.
Menstrual blood loss, pregnancy and breastfeeding all draw on iron stores, so women of reproductive age are the group most often found low. Heavy periods are worth mentioning to your doctor. In men and post-menopausal women, low ferritin is less expected and the source of loss is usually investigated.
Yes. Inflammation from infection, injury, chronic disease or obesity pushes ferritin up regardless of iron stores, so a reassuring value in an unwell person can mask deficiency. This is why doctors check an inflammatory marker alongside it.
Usually not. Inflammation, fatty liver and alcohol are far more common explanations. Genuine iron overload is suggested when transferrin saturation is also raised, and confirming it needs repeat testing and often a genetic test.
Because stores empty first. Your body will keep haemoglobin steady by drawing on reserves, so ferritin can be low while the blood count still looks entirely ordinary, and that is the point at which treatment is simplest.
Not immediately. Haemoglobin responds first and stores refill much more slowly, so your doctor will usually allow a full course of treatment to take effect before rechecking, and will ask you to pause the supplement before the sample.
Not for ferritin on its own. If it is part of an iron panel, you may be asked to fast overnight and come in the morning. Skip iron tablets on the morning of the test.
The ferritin test is AED 55, including a physician-reviewed report, with results usually within 24 hours. Home collection anywhere in Dubai is free when your order reaches AED 300 or includes a package; below that, a AED 100 home collection fee applies (AED 50 for a lab walk-in).