Numerous reports of quality-of-life data in chronic peritoneal dialysis (CPD) patients in the United States and Western Europe use the short form questionnaire (SF-36). Few centers in Europe have reported data examining the incidence of depression in CPD patients. Depression has been shown to correlate with morbidity and mortality in dialysis patients. A high incidence of clinical depression is seen in end-stage renal disease patients in the United States. We thought it could be important to compare depression measurements between the United States and European countries. Quality-of-life data of the peritoneal dialysis patients from the New Haven continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis (CAPD) unit and from the New Technology Center at Hospital #31 in St. Petersburg were compared. The Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) and the SF-36, which includes the mental component score (MCS) and the physical component score (PCS), were administered to the patients. The study participants included 147 Russian and 96 U.S. patients. The BDI, PCS, and MCS scores were similar in both groups. The BDI scores in the Russian patients indicated that a high incidence of clinical depression likely exists in that patient population. The utility of the BDI in assessing quality-of-life issues in Europe and Russia requires further evaluation.