OBJECTIVES:  Symptomatic iron deficiency (ID) is a disorder affecting 10-20% of menstruating women. ID is diagnosed by measuring serum ferritin, a protein helping to store iron in the body. A deeper understanding of the association between ID and its societal and economic burden is relevant for patients, physicians, health care decision makers. METHODS:  An online household survey was carried out among Swiss women aged 18-50 years suffering from debilitating symptoms due to ID. The data was population-weighted for age and region. ID-related days of sick-leave and the societal economic burden of the disease in the working female population were assessed as productivity losses on the labor market, via the human capital approach (HCA) and the friction cost method (FCM=HCA*0.8). To quantify the indirect costs via the HCA, the number of lost working days was multiplied by a cost of EUR258/day (exchange rate: EUR0.92=CHF1.00). RESULTS:  The total sample included 1’010 individuals who received an ID diagnosis with a blood test in the last 2 years (mean age:33.5 years). The majority of women were in the work-force (96.5%); 55.2% had a full-time and 41.3% a part-time employment. Most named symptoms were “being tired or exhausted” (96.0%) and reduced physical energy level (21.0%). On average, 28.5% of participants in the work-force had to take sick leaves due to ID symptoms within a period of 2 years (mean: 5.2 days, i.e. 2.6 days/year). Assuming an ID prevalence in the total female population ranging between 10-20%, the estimated annual indirect costs in Switzerland would range between EUR32-64 million (HCA) or EUR25-51 million (FCM), respectively. CONCLUSIONS: The societal and economic burden of sick-leave of working women due to debilitating symptoms of ID in Switzerland is substantial. Timely, correct diagnosis and treatment of ID may contribute to reducing this burden. Further studies are needed in this area to validate our results.