Ferritin as a functional biomarker of iron status in children and young adults

Iron deficiency (ID) is a common micronutrient deficiency in infants and young children and is of global public health significance. Its diagnosis relies on accurate measurement of serum ferritin (Bailey et al, 2015). The paediatric age-specific lower reference limit for ferritin has been variably reported between 5 and 20 μg/l and is generally based on the diagnosis of anaemia rather than ID (Domellöf et al, 2002; The Royal College of Pathologists of Australasia, 2013).