To investigate the serum ferritin level in healthy people in Jiangsu Province and to explore the reference range of ferritin.

A retrospective analysis of 24 803 cases of serum ferritin in the physical examination population sent to our center from January to December 2017 was made. The population was divided in to groups according to gender and age, and SPSS software was used for statistical analysis and to compare the average ferritin level of each group.

The serum ferritin level in healthy adults in Jiangsu Province was in a partial distribution, and there were differences between different gender and age groups. The reference serum ferritin levels in male were as follows: ages 18 to 30(8.30~373.02 ng/ml), ages 31 to 40(11.88~481.60 ng/ml), ages 41 to 50 (19.34~497.34 ng/ml), ages 51 to 65(15.05~495.41 ng/ml), ages over 65 years old(16.00~511.48 ng/ml). There were significant ferritin level differences between 18 and 30 years old and over 30 years old. The reference serum ferritin levels in female were as follows: ages 18 to 30(7.44~181.76 ng/ml), ages 31 to 40(5.51~193.91 ng/ml), ages 41 to 50 (4.33~218.88 ng/ml), ages 51 to 65 (7.23~404.37 ng/ml), ages over 65 years old (7.36~449.67 ng/ml). There were significant ferritin level between 18 and 50 years old and over 50 years old.

In addition to gender, the level of ferritin is increasing with age. Laboratories in different regions should establish ferritin reference intervals of different genders and ages, so as to provide reliable data for clinical diagnosis.