Contents:
- Medical Video: Anemia - Causes, Symptoms, Treatments & More…
- What is ferritin?
- What is the normal level of iron binding protein in the body?
- What if this protein level is too high or too low in the body?
Medical Video: Anemia - Causes, Symptoms, Treatments & More…
When you do a blood test, one of the results may indicate ferritin levels in your body. Well, what is ferritin? What does it mean if this substance is too low or high in the body? See the explanation below.
What is ferritin?
Ferritin is a protein in the body that binds iron. Most of the iron stored in the body is bound to these proteins. This protein is found in the liver, spleen, skeletal muscle, and bone marrow. Only a small amount of ferritin is found in the blood.
This amount of protein in the blood can show how much iron is stored in your body. For this reason, there are many ferritin tests to find out about this. If the ferritin test shows low results, it means that the iron in your body is at a low level and you are deficient in iron. Conversely, if the ferritin test results show results that are higher than the normal level, it means that too much iron is stored in the body.
Ferritin tests can be done to:
- Shows the cause of anemia, especially iron deficiency anemia
- Find out if there is inflammation in the body
- Find out if there is too much iron in the body
- Check whether iron treatment that has been done so far gives good results
Usually this protein level test is carried out in conjunction with tests to see iron levels, total iron binding capacity, or blood cell count.
What is the normal level of iron binding protein in the body?
Normal levels of iron-binding proteins are distinguished by age and sex. According to WebMD, the normal levels of this iron-binding protein are:
- Male: 18-270 mcg / L
- Women: 18-160 mcg / L
- Children: 7-140 mcg / L
- Infants aged 1-5 months: 50-200 mcg / L
- Newborns: 25-200 mcg / L
However, the normal level of the substance as above may differ from the normal level used by the laboratory where you are conducting the test. Each laboratory may have a different range of normal levels of ferritin protein tests. Usually, the range of normal levels is listed in the test results given by your laboratory.
What if this protein level is too high or too low in the body?
This iron-binding protein level can be higher or even lower than normal. High and low levels of these substances can indicate iron storage disorders.
Very high levels of ferritin, which is more than 1000 mcg / L, indicates a buildup of iron in the body. This is known as hemochromatosis. This disease can be inherited in the family (genetic). In addition, hemochromatosis can also be caused by thalassemia, some types of anemia that cause red blood cells to collapse (such as hemolytic anemia), get too many blood transfusions, or if you are a person who often drinks alcoholic beverages.
High levels of iron-binding protein can also be caused by Hodgkins disease, leukemia, infection, arthritis, lupus, or a high-iron diet.
On the contrary, low ferritin levels can indicate that the body is deficient in iron or iron deficiency anemia. Iron deficiency can be caused by a lot of blood loss due to heavy menstruation, bleeding during pregnancy, eating less iron-rich foods, or due to intestinal bleeding. Where, this intestinal bleeding can be caused by ulcers in the intestine, intestinal polyps, or colon cancer.
