IRON PROFILE

Iron Profile (Iron Studies)

An Iron Profile is a group of blood tests used to evaluate the amount of iron in your body and how well it is being transported and stored.

It is commonly ordered to diagnose:

• Iron deficiency anemia

• Iron overload

• Chronic diseases affecting iron metabolism

🧪 Components of an Iron Profile

1️⃣ Serum Iron

• Measures the amount of iron circulating in the blood.

• Normal range: 60–170 µg/dL (may vary by lab)

🔻 Low → Iron deficiency, chronic disease
🔺 High → Iron overload, liver disease

2️⃣ TIBC (Total Iron Binding Capacity)

• Measures how much iron your blood can bind.

• Reflects transferrin (iron transport protein).

• Normal range: 240–450 µg/dL

🔻 Low → Chronic disease, malnutrition
🔺 High → Iron deficiency

3️⃣ Transferrin Saturation (%)

• Percentage of transferrin carrying iron.

• Calculated as:
  (Serum Iron ÷ TIBC) × 100

• Normal: 20–50%

🔻 Low → Iron deficiency
🔺 High → Iron overload