What does a low ferritin level indicate?

If a ferritin test reveals that your blood ferritin level is lower than normal, it indicates your body’s iron stores are low and you have iron deficiency. As a result, you could be anemic.

How does inflammation cause low iron?

In anemia of inflammation, you may have a normal or sometimes increased amount of iron link stored in your body tissues, but a low level of iron in your blood. Inflammation may prevent your body from using stored iron to make enough healthy red blood cells, leading to anemia.

Why is transferrin low in inflammation?

Transferrin is a negative acute phase protein. This means that with inflammation, the liver increases the production of inflammation-associated proteins (e.g. CRP, ferritin) while it decreases the production of proteins such as transferrin [6, 7].

Can low ferritin cause inflammation?

Serum ferritin is also a well known inflammatory marker, but it is unclear whether serum ferritin reflects or causes inflammation, or whether it is involved in an inflammatory cycle. We argue here that serum ferritin arises from damaged cells, and is thus a marker of cellular damage.

Can low iron and ferritin cause weight gain?

No association was found between ferritin concentration and extrapyramidal symptoms. Conclusions: Body iron stores are inversely related to risperidone-induced weight gain, even after extended treatment and despite adequate iron intake. Low iron stores are associated with poorer treatment response.

What diseases cause low iron?

Some of the most common causes of iron deficiency anaemia are outlined below.

Monthly periods. In women of reproductive age, periods are the most common cause of iron deficiency anaemia.
Pregnancy.
Gastrointestinal blood loss.
Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs.
Chronic kidney disease.
Other causes.

What happens if transferrin is low?

Low transferrin can impair hemoglobin production (since to make hemoglobin, you have to have iron) and so lead to anemia. Low transferrin can be due to poor production of transferrin by the liver (where it’s made) or excessive loss of transferrin through the kidneys into the urine.