A British study has found that bullying significantly increases rates of youth depression.

Young adults who were bullied during childhood are more than twice as likely to suffer from depression, British research suggests.

The study, which analysed more than 6700 young people in the UK, concluded that almost a third of depression at the age of 18 could be explained by peer victimisation.

The team of scientists, led by researchers at the University of Oxford, found that just over five per cent of teenagers who did not experience bullying had depression.

But that increased to nearly fifteen per cent in those who suffered it frequently.

Of the 683 participants who reported frequent bullying at the age of 13, 101 suffered from depression at the age of 18.

Meanwhile, of the 1446 who said they experienced some bullying, 103 were depressed at 18.

Depression rates were much lower for the 1769 who reported no victimisation, with only 98 affected by the time they reached 18.