In a general hospital, 125 fertile female suicide attempters (& 83 blood donors as controls) with regular menstrual cycles were prospectively studied. A retrospective diagnosis of premenstrual dysphoric disorder was made. Attempts during the luteal phase were not more frequent in females with premenstrual dysphoric disorder than in those without. As expected, there was a significantly higher frequency of premenstrual dysphoric disorder in suicide attempters than in the controls. Results suggest premenstrual dysphoric disorder may not be associated with suicidal acts during the luteal phase, when premenstrual symptoms are present. (19 refs.) JA