Supplements · Metabolic & Cardiometabolic
PCOS increases ferritin
Part of: • PCOS
📅 Last reviewed: 2026-07-15 ⓘ
Evidence ladder
How far up the ladder this claim has climbed. A high consensus on a low rung means "consistent so far," not "proven in people."
Top evidence so far: All trials, pooled (Meta-analysis)
How the studies fall
What the evidence shows
PCOS is associated with an iron-overload pattern (higher ferritin/serum iron, suppressed hepcidin) — the opposite of deficiency.
The evidence (6)
| Source | Grade | Stance | Quality | Finding |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Virtanen N, Arffman RK, Saarela U, Pesonen E, Hurskainen E, Luiro K, Rajecki M, Savukoski SM, Kangasniemi MH, Kinnunen J, Koivunen P, Piltonen T 2025 · Fertility and sterility | observational | mixed | high | Finnish Women's Health Study cohort, n=1918, age ~35. PCOS higher median ferritin (51.4 vs 44.9 ug/L). Low ferritin rarer in PCOS w/ oligo/amenorrhea (1.5% vs 11.8%). Fasting insulin correlated with ferritin (effect size 0.062, 95%CI 0.005 |
| Gokkaya N, Gecmez G, Ozcelik S, Biyikli M, Aydin K 2025 · Endocrine | observational | mixed | moderate | Retrospective, PCOS n=81 on EE/DRSP contraceptive x6mo. Post-tx ferritin rose (p=0.001) while Hb/hematocrit/transferrin saturation FELL (suggests inflammation not true iron storage). Ferritin correlated with BMI (r=0.31), HOMA-IR (r=0.248) |
| escobar-iron-2011 2011 · The Journal of clinical endocrinology and metabolism | observational | supports | moderate | Case-control (Escobar-Morreale group): decreased hepcidin relative to ferritin in PCOS — supports low-hepcidin-driven mild iron excess. |
| Vikhnan D, Madhvacharya VV, Mundkur A, Poojari VG, Lakshmi RV, Narayan PK, Adiga SK, Adiga PK, Kalthur G 2026 · Journal of Taibah University Medical Sciences | observational | contradicts | moderate | Prospective cohort, PCOS n=40 vs non-PCOS n=50 (ART patients). Mean ferritin comparable between groups; high-ferritin prevalence actually lower in PCOS (42.2%) vs non-PCOS (57.8%). No significant BMI/AFC correlation. |
| Wang T, Hu W, Zhou J, Fu L, Xie N, Yun F, Piao J, Lin J, Chen D, Qu F, Wang F 2025 · BMC Endocr Disord | meta-analysis | supports | moderate | PCOS: ferritin SMD +0.86 (0.40–1.32), serum iron +0.46, transferrin sat +4.85%, hepcidin −2.09. Iron-overload/ferroptosis pattern. |
| chen-iron-2015 2015 · Taiwanese journal of obstetrics & gynecology | observational | supports | moderate | Cross-sectional: higher body iron stores (ferritin) in PCOS, independently/negatively associated with ovarian volume & AMH. ↩ SUPERSEDED — pooled in the review above, counted once |
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