doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2025.1540530deuSánchez-Recio, RaquelOliván-Blázquez, BárbaraMéndez-López, FátimaGascón-Santos, SantiagoMartí-Lluch, RuthZabaleta-Del-Olmo, EdurneTamayo-Morales, OlayaMaderuelo-Fernández, José A.Casajuana, MarcLópez-Jiménez, TomasMotrico, EmmaGómez-Gómez, IreneSánchez-Pérez, ÁlvaroRodero-Cosano, María LuisaLlobera, JoanBellón, Juan A.Moreno-Peral, PatriciaBolíbar, BonaventuraRecio-Rodríguez, José I.Ramos, RafelClavería, AnaSelf-reported health and depression among EIRA cohort: a moderated mediation model of sex and perceived social supportART-2025-144752The positive relationship between health and good perceived social support has been widely demonstrated in the scientific literature. It is known that having a good social support influences the proper maintenance of health even as a protective factor, besides being a good predictor in the recovery of health during a disease process, influencing differently men and women.AimThis project aims to study the moderating effects of perceived social support in the relationship between depression and self-perceived health according to gender, after a complex multiple-risk intervention was carried out in patients of primary health care with low social support.MethodsA cluster randomized clinical trial was developed in the subgroup of patients included in phase 3 of the EIRA project. CONSORT recommendations were followed to present the results. To determine the mediating effect between social support and self-perceived health, three regression analyses were carried out using the procedure designed by Hayes through the PROCESS macro for SPSS.Results3,062 people (54.9% women) participated in the study. Men reported experiencing more social support and self-perceived health (p < 0.001) than women at the beginning of the study, but women reported higher social support at post-intervention. Moderation analyses showed that, post-intervention, those women (bsimple = −2.9867, p < 0.001) and males (bsimple = −1.4337, p < 0.001) who scored lower in depression reported higher social support.ConclusionIn primary care, it is necessary to encourage intervention strategies that promote social networks as a key element of positive action aimed at maintaining and improving the population’s health, especially in adults and more specifically in women.Clinical trial registrationClinicalTrials.gov, identifier NCT03136211.2025http://zaguan.unizar.es/record/16224210.3389/fpsyg.2025.1540530http://zaguan.unizar.es/record/162242oai:zaguan.unizar.es:162242info:eu-repo/grantAgreement/ES/ISCIII-MINECO/PI15/01072info:eu-repo/grantAgreement/ES/ISCIII/RD16-0007-0003info:eu-repo/grantAgreement/ES/ISCIII/RD16-0007-0005info:eu-repo/grantAgreement/ES/ISCIII-RedIAPP/RD16-0007-0002iinfo:eu-repo/grantAgreement/ES/ISCIII-RedIAPP/RD16-0007-0004iinfo:eu-repo/grantAgreement/ES/ISCIII-RedIAPP/RD16-0007-0006iinfo:eu-repo/grantAgreement/ES/ISCIII-RedIAPP/RD16-0007-0008iinfo:eu-repo/grantAgreement/ES/ISCIII-RedIAPP/RD16-0007-0009iinfo:eu-repo/grantAgreement/ES/ISCIII-RedIAPP/RD16-0007-0010iinfo:eu-repo/grantAgreement/ES/ISCIII-RedIAPP/RD16-0007-0012iinfo:eu-repo/grantAgreement/ES/ISCIII-RedIAPP/RD16-0007-0013iinfo:eu-repo/grantAgreement/ES/ISCIII-RedIAPP/RD16-0007-0015info:eu-repo/grantAgreement/ES/ISCIII/RD12-0005-0001info:eu-repo/grantAgreement/ES/ISCIII/RD16-0007-0001info:eu-repo/grantAgreement/ES/MINECO/ISCIII/PI15-00114info:eu-repo/grantAgreement/ES/MINECO/ISCIII/PI15-00565info:eu-repo/grantAgreement/ES/MINECO/ISCIII/PI15-00762info:eu-repo/grantAgreement/ES/MINECO/ISCIII/PI15-00896info:eu-repo/grantAgreement/ES/MINECO/ISCIII/PI15-01133info:eu-repo/grantAgreement/ES/MINECO/ISCIII/PI15-01151info:eu-repo/grantAgreement/ES/MINECO/ISCIII/PI15-01412Frontiers in Psychology 16 (2025), 12 pp.byhttps://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/deed.esinfo:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess