National Board of Health and Welfare says the fall began in 2002, the Local reported Sunday.

The decrease came after a U.S. report that associated breast cancer, strokes and heart attacks with hormone replacement treatments, the newspaper said.

"It is good news that women in Sweden are getting breast cancer less often, now that we understand one should be more cautious with hormone treatment," said Cecillia Magnusson of the Karolinska Institute.

Sweden reduced by half the use of hormones such as estrogen and progestin to treat women suffering symptoms of menopause after a study linking them to breast cancer was released by the Women's Health Institute.