OBJECTIVES: African-Americans represent one-third of dialysis patients and are known to live longer than Caucasian dialysis patients. Previous reports suggest they also have better health status. The health status of African-Americans and Caucasians has not been compared using the SF-36. We hypothesize that SF-36 scores for African-Americans will be better than for Caucasians. METHODS: This retrospective analysis compares 6509 African-Americans (mean age 55 years, 48% male, 34% diabetes as primary diagnosis) to 7715 white patients (mean age 60 years, 56% male, 37% diabetes as primary diagnosis) from one dialysis chain. Health status is measured by a single administration of the SF-36 between 10/30/90 and 10/30/00. Clinical variables are assessed. RESULTS: