Background
: Alcoholism is a common disease in the family practice. It causes multiple problems in many aspects such as biologic, psychological, social and family functioning of individual. Therefore, it is necessary for family physicians to study on alcoholic patients in a comprehensive way to understand those problems. We studied in a retrospective method to make basic asessment and approach to alcoholism.

Methods : We reviewed the medical records of 78 of alcoholics who were admitted to a mental hospital from June, 1993 to September, 1994. We inquired into the family function, withdrawal symptoms of alcoholilic patients, each axis(by DSM Ⅳ ) and laboratory test results.
Rusults : The alcoholic inpatients consisted of 76 males(97.4%h and 2 females(2.6%). 76.5% of them were married, and in terms of family stage, school-age family(49.0%) were the greatest. Their drinking duration is over 20 years in 44.9% of the subjects. Most of them were adimitted to a hospital involutarily(71.8%) and their family types(by FACESⅢ) showed extreme type in 30.8%, midrange type in 47.4% and balanced type in 21.8%. As regard to withdrawal symptoms, tyey expressed autonomic gypersesitivity very often(69.2%). In 37.2% of patients, they had personality disorders concommitantly and antisocial personality disorder was also very frequent(17.9%). They have more organic didseases than non-alcohilic patients, such as digestive(66.7%h, endocrine(20.5%), circulatory) 10.3%), respiratory system diseases(9.0%) and so on. They had many psychosocial and environmental problems in primary support group(43.6%) and in occupation(16.6%). They revealed significantly lowered social functioning than before the symptoms due to alcoholism developed(P<0.01).

Conclusion : Alcoholic patients have multiple problems in biologic, psychologic, social, and family functioning. A family physician should participate in the management of alcoholism in a comprehensive and continuous was.