Ferritin is the body’s iron storage protein and, inconveniently, an acute-phase reactant that rises with inflammation regardless of iron status. That dual identity is the entire problem with reading it on its own. Both ends of the range matter: deficiency brings fatigue and cognitive effects, while overload — hereditary haemochromatosis — damages liver, heart and pancreas through oxidative stress. Both are common, and both are quiet early on.
A well-established test for diagnosing iron-deficiency anaemia and for screening for hereditary haemochromatosis, particularly where there is a family history or unexplained abnormal liver enzymes. Interpretation always requires pairing with iron studies or transferrin saturation plus an inflammatory marker, because ferritin alone is confounded by concurrent inflammation.
US Preventive Services Task Force. Ann Intern Med. 2006. PubMed: PMID 16880462 · Full cost breakdown & who should test →
Singapore guidance
Not covered in the current review
Singapore’s national screening committee has not reviewed this test in the current volume of its report, which covers nine conditions. That is not a verdict either way.
Source: Screening Test Review Committee report 2026, Volume 1 (Academy of Medicine Singapore and Ministry of Health, February 2026). The full national list · How this is used.
What you would actually pay
- Healthier SG
- Not subsidised
- MediSave
- Not among the screenings named for outpatient claims
Source: Healthier SG Screening (HealthHub) and MediSave outpatient care (Ministry of Health). Absence from either list is not a statement that the test is discouraged — only that no subsidy or claim applies. Gross prices compared.
What it costs when it is wrong
- Basis
- No published harm criterion found
- Severity
- Not documented
Not covered in the current volume of the committee’s report, so no harm criterion was found either way.
An empty finding, not a clean bill of health: this means nothing documented was found for this test. It is not a claim that the test is safe.
Screening harm is not only a laboratory question: the committee’s own criteria advise against a test when “the screening test, or follow-up tests arising from a positive screen, are associated with significant medical risks”. Sources on overdiagnosis → · How this is graded.
Singapore pricing. We have a full price breakdown for this test, using checked 2026 figures from named providers — read the price guide →
FAQ
Is the Ferritin worth doing in Singapore?
For adults without symptoms, Ferritin sits at the moderate grade on our evidence scale. It typically costs S$30–52 in Singapore. The usual schedule: baseline once; repeat if symptomatic, family history of haemochromatosis, or on iron supplements. It is most appropriate for fatigue, suspected anaemia, family history of haemochromatosis, or unexplained abnormal liver function.
Weighing this against something else? Compare it with two other tests → · Price it inside a panel →