Key Benefits

• Spot hidden ulcer bleeding by checking hemoglobin, iron, and ferritin together.
• Flag iron deficiency early, before anemia becomes severe or symptomatic.
• Explain fatigue, dizziness, or shortness of breath by confirming ulcer-related anemia.
• Guide urgency and therapy, including iron replacement, H. pylori testing, and acid suppression.
• Protect fertility by correcting iron deficiency that disrupts cycles and lowers energy.
• Support pregnancy by optimizing iron stores to reduce risks of anemia and preterm birth.
• Track healing over time; rising hemoglobin and ferritin signal bleeding has stopped.
• Best interpreted with transferrin saturation, TIBC, and symptoms; inflammation can raise ferritin.

What are Peptic Ulcer Disease

Peptic ulcer disease biomarkers are biological signals that reveal why ulcers form, how active they are, and whether complications are occurring. The most pivotal are indicators of Helicobacter pylori, the bacterium that drives many ulcers; detecting its presence or the body’s immune imprint against it (H. pylori antigens and antibodies) pinpoints the root cause so treatment can be targeted. Hormones and enzymes that govern stomach acidity and mucosal protection show the terrain in which ulcers develop: gastrin reflects the stomach’s acid-stimulating drive, while pepsinogen I and II reflect the health of the stomach lining and its capacity to withstand acid (gastric mucosal integrity and inflammation). Biomarkers of bleeding signal risk and severity: hidden blood in stool or a drop in red blood parameters indicate an ulcer has eroded a vessel (occult gastrointestinal bleeding, anemia). Together, these markers help confirm ulcer biology, distinguish infectious from noninfectious drivers, gauge the tissue environment, and detect complications—enabling precise diagnosis, focused therapy, and monitoring of healing.

Why are Peptic Ulcer Disease biomarkers important?

Peptic Ulcer Disease biomarkers translate a local wound in the stomach or duodenum into whole‑body signals about blood loss, iron balance, oxygen delivery, and inflammation. Because ulcers can bleed slowly or suddenly, these markers help reveal whether the body’s red‑cell system is keeping up, how hard the heart and brain must work with less oxygen, and whether hidden losses are accumulating.

For orientation, hemoglobin usually falls around 12–16 for most adult women and 13.5–17.5 for most adult men; people tend to feel best in the middle of their sex‑specific range. Serum iron commonly sits near 60–170, where mid‑range values are typical. Ferritin, the iron‑storage protein, is often about 15–150 in women and 30–300 in men; many feel well with ferritin in the middle to upper‑normal range while avoiding high levels.

When these values drift low, it often reflects chronic gastrointestinal blood loss and iron deficiency from the ulcer. Ferritin typically drops first, then iron, then hemoglobin as stores are exhausted. Fatigue, shortness of breath with exertion, paleness, headaches, and restless legs may appear; black stools or dizziness suggest heavier bleeding. Men and postmenopausal women with low iron markers raise concern for occult GI loss. Children and teens may show attention or learning issues. In pregnancy, low ferritin and hemoglobin increase maternal fatigue and adverse birth risks.

Less commonly in ulcer disease, values run high. Hemoglobin may appear high with dehydration or chronic hypoxia; iron can spike after recent intake; ferritin can climb with inflammation or liver disease, sometimes masking true iron lack.

Big picture: these biomarkers integrate gut integrity, marrow production, oxygen transport, and inflammatory tone. Tracking them links ulcer activity to cardiovascular strain, cognitive and exercise capacity, pregnancy outcomes, and long‑term risks like falls, hospitalizations, and cardiac stress, while helping confirm healing or ongoing hidden blood loss.

What Insights Will I Get?

Peptic ulcer disease can cause slow, sometimes hidden blood loss that drains the body’s iron and erodes red‑cell capacity. This undermines oxygen delivery, energy production, cardiovascular stability, cognition, and immune resilience. Tracking these changes reveals whether an ulcer is impacting whole‑body physiology. At Superpower, we test these specific biomarkers: Hemoglobin, Iron, Ferritin.

Hemoglobin: the oxygen‑carrying protein in red blood cells. In PUD, acute or chronic bleeding lowers hemoglobin, signaling reduced oxygen delivery to tissues. Adequate hemoglobin supports aerobic metabolism, exercise capacity, and hemodynamic stability; declining values point to systemic strain from ongoing blood loss.

Iron: the circulating iron available for heme synthesis, carried primarily on transferrin (serum iron). With ulcer‑related blood loss, serum iron often falls, reflecting insufficient substrate to build hemoglobin and iron‑dependent enzymes. Stable iron levels support mitochondrial ATP generation and neurologic function; low levels indicate impaired oxygen transport capacity in the making.

Ferritin: the body’s iron storage protein; serum ferritin reflects iron reserves. In chronic GI bleeding, ferritin drops first, often before marked anemia appears. Robust stores buffer transient losses and maintain red‑cell production; depleted stores indicate vulnerability to symptomatic anemia and reduced physiologic resilience. Note ferritin also rises with inflammation (acute‑phase reactant), which can mask deficiency.

Notes: Interpretation varies with age, pregnancy, and acute illness. Dehydration or altitude can shift hemoglobin. Inflammation, liver disease, and infection can elevate ferritin despite true iron lack. Acid‑suppressing or NSAID use, and timing of blood draws (diurnal variation) influence iron indices. Assay differences and recent transfusion or bleeding events affect results and trends.