Assessment of Serum Ferritin Levels in Female Patients With Telogen Effluvium

The study involving 100 female participants, 50 with telogen effluvium (TE) and 50 healthy controls, found that women with TE had significantly lower serum ferritin levels (24.30 ± 11.13 ng/mL) compared to controls (44.78 ± 19.89 ng/mL; p<0.001). Notably, 28% of TE cases had ferritin levels below 15 ng/mL, while none of the controls did. The study concludes that low serum ferritin is significantly associated with TE, suggesting it as a useful biomarker for identifying iron deficiency in women with diffuse hair loss. Despite some limitations, such as a small sample size, the findings support the integration of ferritin assessment into clinical protocols for better diagnosis and treatment of TE.