What Causes Abnormal Serum Iron Levels?

Abnormal serum iron levels can have various causes, ranging in severity from 'needs attention' to 'life-threatening'. Finding the true cause means ruling out or confirming each possibility – in other words, diagnosis.

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Diagnosis is usually a complex process due to the sheer number of possible causes and related symptoms. In order to diagnose abnormal serum iron levels, we could:

Research the topic
Find a doctor with the time
Use a diagnostic computer system.

The process is the same, whichever method is used.

Step 1: List all Possible Causes

We begin by identifying the disease conditions which have "abnormal serum iron levels" as a symptom. Here are seven possibilities:

Chronic Inflammation
Metal Toxicity
Hemochromatosis
Iron Deficiency Anemia
Megaloblastic Anemia
Cancer In General
Hemolytic Anemia

Step 2: Build a Symptom Checklist

We then identify all possible symptoms and risk factors of each possible cause, and check the ones that apply:

significant history of cysts

exposure to old building materials

pale pink inside lower eyelids

cancer in family members

elevated liver enzymes

severe fatigue after slight exertion

hemolytic anemia

joint pain/swelling/stiffness

pernicious anemia

moderate unexplained weight loss

minor joint pain/swelling/stiffness

elevated ferritin levels

... and more than 40 others

Step 3: Rule Out or Confirm each Possible Cause

A differential diagnosis of your symptoms and risk factors finds the likely cause of abnormal serum iron levels:

Cause	Probability	Status
Metal Toxicity	92%	Confirm
Chronic Inflammation	28%	Unlikely
Iron Deficiency Anemia	15%	Unlikely
Cancer In General	2%	Ruled out
Hemochromatosis	1%	Ruled out
Megaloblastic Anemia	0%	Ruled out
Hemolytic Anemia	0%	Ruled out

* This is a simple example to illustrate the process

Arriving at a Correct Diagnosis

The Analyst™ is our online diagnosis tool that learns all about you through a straightforward process of multi-level questioning, providing diagnosis at the end.

If you indicate having had recent lab tests, The Analyst™ will ask further questions including this one:

Iron, serum. Unit: ug/dL [umol/L]

Possible responses:

→ Don't know
→ Under 20 [3.6] (very low)
→ 20-59 [3.6-10.6] (low)
→ 60-175 [10.7-31.3] (normal)
→ Over 175 [31.3] (high)

Based on your response to this question, which may indicate very low serum iron, low serum iron, normal serum iron or high serum iron, The Analyst™ will consider possibilities such as:

Cancer, General

Chronic Inflammation

Heavy Metal Toxicity

Elevated serum iron can occur in cases of lead poisoning.

Hemochromatosis (Iron overload)

Hemolytic Anemia

Iron Deficiency Anemia

Megaloblastic Anemia / Pernicious Anemia

Elevated serum iron can occur as a result of pernicious anemia.

... and also rule out issues such as:

Hemochromatosis (Iron overload)

Iron Deficiency Anemia