Background: Osteomyelitis（OM） is an atypical consequence of ankle-foot trauma which is associated with long-term mental and physical morbidity and persistent pain. This study aimed to assess the health status of OM patients with war-related ankle-foot injuries.Methods: A total of 1129 veterans with ankle-foot injuries participated in a case-control study（2014–2016）. Thirty patients with chronic OM of the ankle-foot were compared with 90 non-OM participants as the control group. Quality of life（QOL）

life satisfaction and the ability to perform basic and instrumental activities of daily living were measured using the following questionnaires: short-form health survey（SF-36）

satisfaction with life scale（SWLS）

activity of daily living（ADL） and instrumental activity of daily living（IADL）

respectively. OM patients were categorized according to their risk factors as A

B and C hosts using a modified version of the Cierny and Mader classification system. The one sample t-test

2-independent sample t-test

ANOVA

Pearson correlation coefficient and multiple linear regression analyses were applied to analyze the data.Results: Ankle-foot pain leading to surgery（P <0.001） and orthosis usage（P =0.039） were more common in OM patients. There was no significant difference between the two groups in the prevalence of pulmonary and cardiovascular diseases or kidney failure and other related diseases. OM patients showed a significantly lower level of mental health compared to non-OM respondents（P=0.025）. Approximately

70.0% of ankle-foot injured veterans were dissatisfied with their life

and there was no difference between the two groups（P>0.05）. Mobility was significantly lower in the OM patients than in the control group（P=0.023）. Life satisfaction（P=0.001） and the ability to perform daily activities were the determinants for poor physical（P=0.018） and mental health-related quality of life（P=0.012）. According to the Cierny and Mader classification system

they were all included in the type C host classification

with one major and/or three or more minor risk factors.Conclusion: A low level of quality and satisfaction of life and ability to perform activities of daily living were observed in OM patients with war-related ankle-foot injuries. Surgeries of the ankle and foot due to pain were much more common in OM patients than in non-OM participants. Since all the participants were classified as the C-host

health policy planning seems to be necessary.