Serum Ferritin

[Pinkisland]

Can anyone tell me if there is a link between hyperthyroidism and high Serum Ferritin levels and what role Serum Ferritin plays in thyroid disease if any.

Many thanks

[SlowDragon Administrator]

Ferritin is often high due to inflammation of Hashimoto’s

How old are you?

Post menopause ferritin more likely to be high

Need full iron panel test to see if iron is high, or just ferritin

racgp.org.au/afp/2012/decem...

[Pinkisland in reply to SlowDragon]

I am 60 and all other iron levels are normal.

[SlowDragon Administrator in reply to Pinkisland]

So it’s not a problem

[Pinkisland in reply to SlowDragon]

My Ferritin is 283...is that ok?

[SlowDragon Administrator in reply to Pinkisland]

Well it’s high

Lots of reasons for high ferritin

bmj.com/content/351/bmj.h3692

[Pinkisland in reply to SlowDragon]

All other tests were fine so just wondered if it could be thyroid related?

[SlowDragon Administrator in reply to Pinkisland]

Yes, many with Hashimoto’s have high ferritin…..inflammation possible cause

[Pinkisland in reply to SlowDragon]

Thank you...do you have any suggestions on how to reduce it?

[SlowDragon Administrator in reply to Pinkisland]

No…..mine goes up at each test too!

[Pinkisland in reply to SlowDragon]

Thank you for the bmj article. The article recommends that concentrations greater than 300 are elevated for postmenopausal women so 283 appears to still fall in the normal range.

[Arlie123]

Hi, I I have had high ferritin for a while with no apparent reason (have Hashimotos).

After testing (negative) for haemochromatosis I now give blood to keep it down.

[radd in reply to Arlie123]

Arlie123,

If you have elevated ferritin that warrants giving blood to keep it down, you have iron overload and the chances are you have haemochromotosis but just in a genetic form that isn't commonly recognised.

The common genetic variation to the HFE gene on chromosome 6 usually involves the C282Y and H63D alleles but there are many others, and also more to be yet discovered. Have you had an iron panel performed?

[NIKEGIRL]

Hi. I have Graves’ disease and my ferritin was highly elevated. Only by getting my blood back into range has the ferritin come back into range. I suffered from constipation mostly and only a handful of times burning diarrhoea. PS never knew diarrhoea could actually burn back there. Sorry if that’s TMI.

[Cinderellen]

As previous poster has mentioned, ruling out Haemochromatosis is a must. Your doctor should order a full iron profile, ferritin and transferrin saturation tests (which ought to be a fasting test) to get a true representation of your iron levels. Again, as previously mentioned, high ferritin levels can be due to inflammation, and infection. I'm coming from having Genetic Haemochromatosis and from there being diagnosed thyroid problems in my family. Though personally my thyroid levels are inching towards hypo (but yet not bad enough to be acknowledged) rather than hyper and Grave's like my sister. I would be interested in any link and I wouldn't rule anything out as I believe my thyroid function has been affected by my low iron levels and deficiency in the past 9 years.

[Pinkisland in reply to Cinderellen]

A full iron profile has been done and everything is normal except ferritin.

[Cinderellen in reply to Pinkisland]

So what was your iron saturation level? Haemochromatosis needs to ruled out. Once it is, then there should be other tests to look into any causes for the higher ferritin level.

[Pinkisland in reply to Cinderellen]

37%...other tests done were fine. So now wondering it its thyroid related or not a problem for postmenopausal women.

[Cinderellen in reply to Pinkisland]

So, that's in the ideal range especially if all other tests are normal. I can't tell you about any correlation between higher ferritin levels and the thyroid as I have very limited knowledge despite my family history and my own wacky readings of perimenopause. I would say though if you were to have the genes for GH (haemochromatosis) then your results would most certainly be edging you towards a venesection or two - especially if your serum iron is greater than 50 and your haemoglobin is in good range. If you would like to lower the ferritin then being a regular blood donor may help in bringing it down but I would be speaking with the consultant in charge of my care to see what their thoughts are regarding the ferritin, and possibly requesting further testing to establish causation. Though, your ferritin result doesn't appear to be excessively high imo...(Some of my family had numbers in the thousands) I can fully understand you not wanting to go much higher and the risks of that. Good luck.

[CDN_Lady]

Pinkisland I am the same. Latest test ferritin level rose to 175 ug/L and 2 weeks before it was 161 ug/L. I am 61 so same age range. I have yet to have any feedback from the doctor so like you am concerned but maybe don't need to be. I do have Hashi's though and also TPA antibodies 209 IU/ML on the last test. I am very stiff all the time with sore knees. Also not sure of best way forward.

[Pinkisland in reply to CDN_Lady]

Yours is only slightly raised so probably fine. This article suggests it's only raised if greater than 300 in postmenopausal women. Not sure if this applies to the UK as well though.

[CDN_Lady in reply to Pinkisland]

Yes, I was told that the CPR is what is concerning regarding inflammation and not the ferritin levels. Although CPR was fine in last test so hopefully not a worry in general. Thanks for your reply

[helvella Administrator Thyroid UK in reply to CDN_Lady]

I think you mean C-reactive Protein (CRP) - not cardio-pulmonary resuscitation.

High CRP might help to explain high ferritin in some people. But high ferritin is something that should not be ignored - it requires explanation.

[CDN_Lady in reply to helvella]

Yes, sorry quite right CRP not CPR How is high ferritin explained; particularly if not supplementing for iron?

[helvella Administrator Thyroid UK in reply to CDN_Lady]

Anyone can make a typo mistake - but I didn't want anyone reading to be confused.

The standard list of causes of high ferritin includes inflammation, malignancy, liver disease or iron overload - quite possibly due to haemochromatosis. There might be others - I wouldn't take that as a definitive list.

Here is a paper:

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/239...

Not everyone realises that they might have a high dietary intake of iron unless they check carefully. Though insufficient seems more common.

[Pinkisland in reply to helvella]

According to my reading alcohol can also cause high ferritin.

[helvella Administrator Thyroid UK in reply to Pinkisland]

Not surprising as alcohol can cause liver issues. Though maybe its effect is by another route?

[radd in reply to Pinkisland]

Pinkisland,

Yeh, alcohol can contribute to high ferritin levels as helps absorption of iron, similar to vitamin C. Whereas milk, tannins (tea, etc) blocks it.

[CDN_Lady in reply to helvella]

No worries. Makes sense re; typos It seems a lot of different things can cause raised ferritin levels. Thanks for sharing that paper - very interesting. I can't identify what may be causing the raise in my levels; except maybe the increase in thyroid antibodies. The joy of Hashi's😧