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Low iron saturation, or iron deficiency, has various possible causes. Learn more about these, as well as the symptoms, diagnosis, and treatments.
While serum iron levels can tell you how much total iron is in your blood, iron saturation tells you how much you’re actually absorbing. When people discuss anemia (low iron) or hemochromatosis (high iron), they’re actually talking about iron saturation more than total iron levels in the blood.
Most people with iron deficiency need 150-200 mg per day of elemental iron (2 to 5 mg of iron per kilogram of body weight per day). Ask your doctor how many milligrams of iron you should be taking per day.
As the name implies, iron deficiency anemia is due to insufficient iron. Without enough iron, your body can't produce enough of a substance in red blood cells that enables them to carry oxygen (hemoglobin). As a result, iron deficiency anemia may leave you tired and short of breath.
An iron test can show if you have too much or too little of this mineral in your system. It can check for conditions like anemia, or iron overload (excess iron). Your doctor might order a test if...
A TIBC (total iron-binding capacity) test is a blood test that measures your blood’s ability (capacity) to attach (bind) to iron and carry it throughout your body. Healthcare providers use it to help diagnose iron-deficiency anemia and other iron metabolism conditions. Advertisement. Cleveland Clinic is a non-profit academic medical center.
Serum ferritin. This test measures the amount of iron stored in your liver. If the results of your serum transferrin saturation test are higher than usual, your health care provider may check your serum ferritin. These blood tests for iron are best performed after you have been fasting.
Total serum iron: 26–170 mcg/dL in women and 76–198 mcg/dL in men; Transferrin saturation: 204–360 mg/dL; Abnormal ranges. The serum iron test and other related tests may reveal low or high...
Iron deficiency typically causes low serum iron, high iron-binding capacity, and low serum ferritin levels. Always seek a cause of iron deficiency, even when anemia is mild. Oral iron supplements are usually adequate; use of parenteral iron is reserved for select patients.
•Iron overload typically results in a high ferritin and transferrin saturation. •Iron deficiency is best assessed using serum ferritin, which is low in the absence of inflammation. •Ferritin levels can be elevated by inflammatory processes and can mask iron deficiency.