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Iron is a mineral your body needs to make haemoglobin, the protein in your red blood cells that carries oxygen. A level that is too low can point to anaemia, a level that is too high to too much iron building up in your body.[1]
On this page you can read what Iron is, what the guidelines say about a value that is too low or too high, what affects your value and which values are best looked at alongside it.
Also called: serum iron, serum Fe. At the lab: FE.
Iron is a mineral your body needs for growth and development. Your body uses iron to make haemoglobin. This protein in your red blood cells carries oxygen from your lungs to every part of your body.[1]
Iron is also important for healthy muscles, your bone marrow and the way your organs work. Your body also needs iron to make some hormones.[1]
There are several iron tests. The test on this page, serum iron, measures how much iron is in your blood.[1]
An iron level that is too low or too high can cause health problems. Too little iron is the most commonly found cause of anaemia. With anaemia, your blood has fewer red blood cells than normal.[1]
With too little iron, you may feel weak or tired, feel dizzy, be short of breath or notice that your heart beats at a different pace or rhythm. Too little iron sometimes only causes symptoms once the level is very low.[1]
With too much iron, you may feel weak or tired and have pain in your joints, often in your knees or hands, or in your belly. Less interest in sex, erection problems or skin that turns grey, metallic or bronze can also fit with too much iron.[1]
The lab BioProfile works with, Labplusarts, uses a reference range of 8 to 39 umol/l for Iron. The lab calls a value between those limits normal.[2]
| Value | What it can mean | Who it is for |
|---|---|---|
| 8 to 39 umol/l[2] | Normal according to the lab | The range this lab gives |
Labplusarts reference range for Iron (FE), the lab BioProfile works with.[2]
An iron level that is too low can point to iron deficiency anaemia, a commonly seen form of anaemia. It can also point to another form of anaemia, or to an inherited blood condition in which your body makes fewer healthy red blood cells than normal. Not everyone with a low iron level has anaemia.[1]
An iron level that is too high can point to too much iron building up in your body. This can be inherited or caused by another condition. It can also point to too much lead in your body or to a liver condition. A result outside the range does not have to point to a condition that needs care.[1]
BioProfile is working on its own zones for each value, from risk to optimal. A doctor reviews those zones before they appear in your result.
You get iron from your food or from supplements. There are supplements with iron alone, but many multivitamins contain iron too. How much iron you need a day depends on your age, your sex and whether you mainly eat plant-based.[1]
The amount of iron in your blood changes over the day and can be higher in the morning. The test is usually done in the morning. Sometimes your healthcare provider asks you not to eat or drink for 12 hours beforehand.[1]
Some medicines can affect your iron level, such as the pill and medicines that contain oestrogen.[1]
Your iron level can be lower during your menstrual cycle. People with heavy periods, people who are pregnant or breastfeeding their baby, babies, people who give blood often and people with certain conditions of the digestive system, a malignant condition or a heart that pumps less well find it harder to get enough iron.[1]
Iron is included in all five packages, from BioProfile 31 to BioProfile 150.[3]
The BioProfile editorial team wrote this page on 4 October 2026 from the sources below, which we read on 4 October 2026. Every number on this page appears in one of those sources, with that source's number next to it. An expert is still to review this page; after that review, the expert's name and the date of the review will appear at the top. This page gives explanation, not a diagnosis. Discuss a level outside the range with your GP.
