SynthesisPloS one2018
Performance and comparability of laboratory methods for measuring ferritin concentrations in human serum or plasma: A systematic review and meta-analysis.
Synthesis in PloS one, 2018. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 33 papers, 7 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
33 citing papers in PubMed, 7 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 78 citations in OpenAlex.
- Oral or parenteral iron supplementation to reduce deferral, iron deficiency and/or anaemia in blood donors.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2026Pooled it
- Global prevalences of erythropoiesis-associated micronutrient deficiencies (iron, folate, and vitamin BAnnals of medicine · 2025Pooled it
- Guideline
- Daily oral iron supplementation during pregnancy.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2024Pooled it
- Serum or plasma ferritin concentration as an index of iron deficiency and overload.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2021Pooled it
- Wheat flour fortification with iron and other micronutrients for reducing anaemia and improving iron status in populations.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2021Pooled it
- Wheat flour fortification with iron for reducing anaemia and improving iron status in populations.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2020Pooled it
- Ferritin as a diagnostic point-of-care marker in iron deficiency anemia: a narrative review and clinical implications.Annals of translational medicine · 2026Review
- Article
- Body Iron Stores and Metabolic Syndrome in Adults Free of Cardiometabolic Disease From Southwestern Colombia.Biological trace element research · 2026Article
- Reference Intervals for Serum Ferritin in Older Adults-Results from the Prospective SENIORLAB Study.Journal of clinical medicine · 2026Article
- Cost-Effectiveness of Ferritin Screening Thresholds for Iron Deficiency in Reproductive-Age Women.American journal of hematology · 2025Article
- BMI-residualized data uncovers a cluster of people with type 2 diabetes and increased serum ferritin protected from cardiovascular disease.Cardiovascular diabetology · 2025Article
- The associations of maternal serum ferritin levels with hypertensive disorders of pregnancy: a longitudinal cohort study.Frontiers in nutrition · 2025Article
- Article
- Associations of maternal serum ferritin levels across gestation with gestational diabetes mellitus: A longitudinal cohort study.Journal of diabetes · 2024Article
- The validity of serum ferritin levels in predicting cardiovascular events of metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease patients may need more consideration.Hepatobiliary surgery and nutrition · 2024Article
- Effect of Various Carbon Electrodes on MIP-Based Sensing Proteins Using Poly(Scopoletin): A Case Study of Ferritin.Biomimetics (Basel, Switzerland) · 2024Article
- Indian journal of hematology & blood transfusion : an official journal of Indian Society of Hematology and Blood Transfusion · 2024Article
- Review
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
7 authors at 4 institutions in 3 countries.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundDifferent laboratory methods are used to quantify ferritin concentrations as a marker of iron status. A systematic review was undertaken to assess the accuracy and comparability of the most used methods for ferritin detection. METHODS AND
findingsNational and regional databases were searched for prospective, retrospective, sectional, longitudinal and case-control studies containing the characteristics and performance of at least one method for serum/plasma ferritin determinations in humans published to date. The analysis included the comparison between at least 2 methods detailing: sensitivity, precision, accuracy, predictive values, inter-methods adjustment, and use of international reference materials. Pooled method performance was analyzed for each method and across methods. OUTCOMES: Search strategy identified 11893 records. After de-duplication and screening 252 studies were assessed, including 187 studies in the qualitative analysis and 148 in the meta-analysis. The most used methods included radiometric, nonradiometric and agglutination assays. The overall within-run imprecision for the most reported ferritin methods was 6.2±3.4% (CI 5.69-6.70%; n = 171), between-run imprecision 8.9±8.7% (CI 7.44-10.35%; n = 136), and recovery rate 95.6% (CI 91.5-99.7%; n = 94). The pooled regression coefficient was 0.985 among all methods analyzed, and 0.984 when comparing nonradiometric and radiometric methods, without statistical differences in ferritin concentration ranging from 2.3 to 1454 μμg/L.
conclusionThe laboratory methods most used to determine ferritin concentrations have comparable accuracy and performance. Registered in PROSPERO CRD42016036222.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.