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Have Had Test For Iron Level. Why Is Ferritin Level So High?

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Posted on Sat, 27 Jul 2013
Question: I have an serum iron of 75,tibc of 342,iron saturation of 25%..But a ferritin count of 770? Why is ferritin so high?
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Answered by Dr. Michelle Gibson James (39 minutes later)
95HI, thanks for using healthcare magic

The serum iron, total iron binding capacity and saturation are within normal range but as you correctly stated the ferritin level is high.
The normal range for ferritin is 23 to 336 ng/ml for males.

Ferritin is the storage protein for iron but its levels can go up in a variety of situations such as : acute and chronic liver disease
(2)infection
(3)inflammation
(4)alcoholism
(5)malignancy
(6)hyperthyroidism
(7)iron overload
(8)cancer of the kidney
(9) anemia that is not iron deficiency anemia

It goes up in these conditions because in addition to acting as a storage protein , it is also an acute phase reactant .This means that it responds to any inflammation or oxidative stress of the cells of the body.

Your doctor may determine the likely cause of the increased ferritin based on your medical history, results of examination and any other investigations that were done.

I hope this helps, feel free to ask any other questions
Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar
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Follow up: Dr. Michelle Gibson James (4 minutes later)
Can my arthritis cause inflammation that might raise my ferritin levels?
doctor
Answered by Dr. Michelle Gibson James (11 minutes later)
HI

If the inflammation is severe as a result of the OA then it is possible for the ferritin to rise but in that case other inflammatory markers should also be increased.

There are other markers that can detect inflammation in the body such as ESR or c reactive protein.

Please feel free to ask any thing else
Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar
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Answered by
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Dr. Michelle Gibson James

General & Family Physician

Practicing since :2001

Answered : 16808 Questions

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Have Had Test For Iron Level. Why Is Ferritin Level So High?

95HI, thanks for using healthcare magic

The serum iron, total iron binding capacity and saturation are within normal range but as you correctly stated the ferritin level is high.
The normal range for ferritin is 23 to 336 ng/ml for males.

Ferritin is the storage protein for iron but its levels can go up in a variety of situations such as : acute and chronic liver disease
(2)infection
(3)inflammation
(4)alcoholism
(5)malignancy
(6)hyperthyroidism
(7)iron overload
(8)cancer of the kidney
(9) anemia that is not iron deficiency anemia

It goes up in these conditions because in addition to acting as a storage protein , it is also an acute phase reactant .This means that it responds to any inflammation or oxidative stress of the cells of the body.

Your doctor may determine the likely cause of the increased ferritin based on your medical history, results of examination and any other investigations that were done.

I hope this helps, feel free to ask any other questions