Ferritin is a protein that stores iron inside your body’s cells. It also acts as an inflammation marker — so ferritin can rise either from true iron overload or from inflammatory or metabolic conditions. High ferritin does not automatically mean you have too much iron.
Important: To confirm iron overload, doctors compare ferritin with
serum iron, transferrin saturation, and sometimes perform genetic testing for hemochromatosis. High ferritin alone is not diagnostic.
Common causes of elevated ferritin
- Inflammation or chronic infection
- Liver disease (fatty liver, alcohol use, hepatitis)
- Metabolic syndrome or obesity
- Iron overload (hemochromatosis, transfusion history)
- Kidney disease or malignancy (less common)
Patterns that help interpretation
- High ferritin + normal/low transferrin saturation: inflammation pattern
- High ferritin + high transferrin saturation (>45%): possible iron overload
- High ferritin + high ALT/AST/GGT: liver contribution likely
When to follow up
- Persistent elevation (>300 ng/mL men, >150 ng/mL women) or rising trend
- Accompanied by abnormal liver enzymes or metabolic risk factors
- Known family history of iron overload disorders
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