Anyone drank black tea for many years, developed mental health issues?

Can you say a bit more about why you asked? I and many friends and family members drink black tea daily, and seem to have had no ill effect. My mom was a tea drinker and worked until she was 84. She had some dementia at 90, but it was unrelated to tea. Is this something you've observed or perhaps read about?

Yes. I read somewhere, I can't find it now, where some famous English writer or observer of mankind, in the 19th century wrote to the effect "Tea drinking causes one to become a dullard". I have not found any other literature or studies on the matter so thought I would start with any personal experiences.

My parents drank iced tea all their lives. My dad was still sharp at 92 when he died. My mom was sharp until about 88 then slowly developed dementia. She was forgetful but knew all family until death at 93. She’d had TIA’s.

yes, my uncle was a tea drinker, never coffee and very sharp at 95 when his kidneys gave out, My cousin a tea drinker is in care home now for 3 years with dementia, went in at 76 but showed signs for years. I don't think tea or coffee are culprits, I suspect in the genes

Billions of people the world over drink tea daily and I've never seen that correlated with dementia. Tea is an antioxidant and of course keeps sleepiness at bay. Anything in excess can be harmful (tea can be dehydrating or over stimulating). But I've never read or heard tea is a culprit in mental decline. Plus, I personally love it! Of course tea drinkers can grow old and have dementia. But I doubt there is any causation.

I'm gonna make my response an emphatic Bravo Sierra. Everyone I know, and I mean E.V.E.R.Y.O.N.E. drink tea at least some of the time, and my wife and I drink it daily. So did my father, and my mother, my in-laws....they all drink tea. Believe me, some dullard PhD student somewhere in some backwater university would long since have, even out of desperation, taken this gem of anecdotal 'wisdom' and run with it in order to get credentials. No research I have ever seen suggests that tea is in any way deleterious for humans who consume it....for centuries, by the billions....with a B.

Edit- didn't mean to respond to the person quoted at the top of my post...I'm sorry. I mean this for the OP Robert Willis

Yes, same here with the exception of this obscure writing of a English writer at a time when tea drinking became very popular in England in the 1800's. They seemed to "hit the nail on the head". It's not dementia but a dullness and/or a degradation of concern, in general. Obviously if we were talking alcohol it would be much different! So I would say I agree that there are most likely no negative mental effects but I believe it's worth looking into, for a number of reasonable reasons, by unbiased sources.

Just 100 years ago, 250 years after tea-drinking was widely practiced in merry olde England, doctors were very serious that tobacco smoke enemas were wonderful cures for something. Hives maybe.

On Tuesdays, my news feed tells me that red wine, or even any amount of alcohol really, is to be avoided. Two weeks later, always on a Tuesday, the latest 'science' (admittedly interpreted and fluffed up by an independent or guest journo), says a couple of glasses of red wine are actually beneficial.
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37483967/
Even so, I applaud you for being brave and for putting the question out there. One can't be too careful... 😀

I used to drink coffee. But it made me feel bad. Found out it was the acid in coffee. So I switched over to tea. I drink it all the time and I drink it black. Just had my 90th birthday and so far have not had any problems. I will admit that I also like Jasmine Green tea. And will sometimes switch to that tea for the day.

That's why I was asking for personal accounts. Many studies are biased and/or funded by others with economic interests. Many studies are pure lies or incompetence or nuts. There is a study contained in the NIH library done by a Chinese research organization I believe that concluded that tea can, or may. prevent and cure Covid-19! Good grief! No wonder the NIH has a disclaimer.

There is one case that I know of where a worldwide industry was propagandized for political purposes - to get the masses to believe something they wanted, true or not. Thankfully I believe the world is getting smarter and smarter, even though it may not seem like it at times.

The English writer I referenced was not, I believe, a doctor, but a famous or prominent observer of mankind. Often these kinds of people get things right, that's why they are famous. I believe there may be something to what was said about tea.