Background and Aims Papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC) generally has a good prognosis, leading to relatively limited research on the psychological status of PTC patients. However, animal studies have shown that PTC is associated with negative emotions, which may adversely affect the prognosis of the disease. Therefore, this study was performed to explore the relationship between PTC and negative emotions, focusing on anxiety and depression, to understand their association and provide information for clinical practice and research.Methods Patients diagnosed with PTC after surgery in the Department of Thyroid Surgery at the Second Affiliated Hospital of Nanchang University from June 2021 to April 2022 were selected as the observation group. Healthy volunteers without a history of thyroid disease or thyroid surgery during the same period were selected as the control group. The emotional status of the subjects in the past year was assessed using a general questionnaire, the self-rating anxiety scale (SAS), and the self-rating depression scale (SDS). Multivariable Logistic regression was used to analyze the connection of anxiety and depression to the risk of developing PTC.Results Comparing the four components of SAS, there was no significant difference in the motor tension scores between the observation group and the control group (P=0.496). However, the observation group had significantly higher scores in psychological emotions, neurofunctional disorders, somatic symptoms, and the total SAS score compared to the control group (all P<0.05). Comparing the four components of SDS, there were no significant differences in psychological emotions and psychomotor scores between the two groups (both P>0.05). However, the observation group had significantly higher scores in somatic disorders, psychological disorders, and the total SDS score compared to the control group (all P<0.05). Multivariable Logistic regression analysis of the 20 items of SAS showed that anxiety, panic, insanity, tremors, somatic pain, numbness in hands and feet, palpitations, nightmares, and sleep disturbances were associated with the risk of PTC. Multivariable Logistic regression analysis of the 20 items of SDS indicated that somatic and psychological disorder scores were related to the risk of PTC.Conclusion Negative emotions are associated with the occurrence and development of PTC, and there may be mutual influences between them. Therefore, attention should be given to the psychological well-being of both healthy individuals and PTC patients. The mechanisms underlying the association between negative emotions and PTC require further exploration.