Contemporary studies provide proof of coincidence between diseases of upper and lower airways ("united airways disease"; "one-airway disease"). 184 patients from Szczecin with acute (AS) and chronic sinusitis (CS), aged between 18-78 years (mean age 45.7+/-14.7) were examined. The questionnaire used (SF-36; short form, 36 questions) allowed for a comparison of the quality of life of patients with sinuses' disease with healthy subjects. Patients from the groups studied indicated more restrictions of their daily life than did the subjects from a control group (CG). Among the CS patients the mean quality of life index was 75.5, among the AS patients--60.8 and among healthy subjects--51.8. The differences between the groups were significant at P<0.001. Our study indicate that sinusitis strongly influenced functioning of patients in all eight domains of life.