SOLUBLE TRANSFERRIN RECEPTOR (sTfR)
Definition
Soluble Transferrin Receptor (sTfR) is a measure of iron levels in the body. It is not as affected by inflammation or anaemia as other measures, such as ferritin.1 When ferritin results indicate depleted iron stores, sTfR can be used to assess the severity of the iron depletion.1
The sTfR test measures the amount of sTfRs in the blood at the time of the test.
Population
STfR results were obtained for persons aged 18 years and over, who participated in the National Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Measures Survey (NATSIHMS) and who provided a blood sample. Fasting was not required for this test.
Methodology
A blood sample was collected from participants and sTfR levels were measured at the Douglass Hanly Moir (DHM) laboratory.
There is no consensus on the epidemiological cut off reference values for measuring sTfR in the blood. As such no cut off points have been defined in the NATSIHMS.
Further information about the analysis method and machines used to measure sTfR levels is available in Excel spreadsheet format in the Downloads page of this product.
Data items
The data items and related output categories for this topic are available in Excel spreadsheet format from the Downloads page of this product.
Interpretation
Points to be considered when interpreting data for this topic include the following:
- STfR test results do not confirm a specific diagnosis without consultation with a health professional.
- There are a number of different test methods to measure sTfR levels and each test method may produce different results. The data from this topic should therefore be used with caution when comparing sTfR results from other studies using a different test method.
Comparability with other surveys
The NATSIHMS is the first ABS Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander survey to collect biomedical information. Given it was also the first national level survey (ABS or otherwise) to collect such data for the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander population, no comparisons with previous surveys for this population are possible.
However, biomedical data was also collected for all Australians in the 2011-12 National Health Measures Survey (NHMS) and information about comparisons between the NHMS results and those of non-ABS surveys is available from the
Comparisons with other Australian surveys section of the
Biomedical Results for Chronic Diseases, 2011-12 publication.
ENDNOTES
1 Gibson RS 2005,
Principles of Nutritional Assessment, 2nd ed, New York: Oxford University Press.
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