🔗 Share this article

This year, the number 20 holds special significance for renowned artist Nick Jonas.

As the Jonas Brothers celebrate their 20th year as a band, 2025 simultaneously signifies 20 years since their lead singer's type 1 diabetes diagnosis.

“It’s crazy how it lined up,” Jonas remarked. “It's been an incredible ride in both… in the Brothers sense, it’s been the ride of a lifetime, and we’ve been so fortunate to be able to do this for 20 years now and to have the support of the most amazing fans.”

Parallel to the band’s experience over the last two decades, he said he has had wonderful and challenging moments living with diabetes. The difficulties of managing his condition have been the lows, while raising awareness and connecting with others as a spokesperson and through his foundation have been a source of happiness.

“In summary, I’m really thankful to have been able to be open about [type 1] and to connect with all these wonderful people from all corners of the world who are experiencing their own diabetes path, and it’s a really significant feeling to feel like you’re a little less alone in it,” he added.

Nick Jonas’ A1C Shoutout to His Audience

To thank his fans, on World Diabetes Day (November 14), he stepped onto the platform during a Jonas Brothers concert and surprised his audience by sharing an inspiring message of hope, along with a mention to his A1C.

“My A1C, which is a average of numbers over a three-month period, was the most favorable it’s ever been, in fact, most recently,” said Jonas.

The show was attended by members of a global community — a network of over 30,000 people globally who share their experiences with diabetes to help spread a message of strength, perseverance, and positivity.

“It was really meaningful for me to get to use the Jonas Brothers’ stage as a place to speak about something that’s obviously very important to me and on World Diabetes Day, I think it’s natural to get introspective and to tap into sort of what life looks like for me as a now thirty-three-year-old person managing this disease,” he said.

Jonas dedicated the song “A Little Bit Longer” — a tune he wrote at the start of his career and diabetes journey, to those affected by the disease.

“It’s a really important time for me to get to speak on stage like that and play a song that I wrote about these challenges when I was 14 and to see the effect it still has to this day with the fan base,” he said.

While the song has assumed a new significance for him as an adult, he said it is still pertinent.

“Now I [have] this vast, supportive community that I belong to that has lifted me up in so many different moments. I think my perspective is perhaps a lot more optimistic now. It is feasible to live a big, busy life while living with this disease and mindset and perspective and all that is an essential piece to persevering.”

Advancements in Diabetes Management

Not long ago, life with type 1 diabetes meant more than five insulin injections a day and finger sticks 10 or more times daily. This was a constant cycle of injections, guesswork, and vigilance, as stated by a licensed endocrinologist.

“Insulin pumps replaced multiple daily insulin injections. With time, insulin pumps became less bulky and more advanced, and eventually learned to ‘talk’ with the glucose monitors,” the expert explained.

“Automated systems began adjusting insulin on their own, creating hybrid ‘automated delivery’ systems that alleviate some of the cognitive load people with type 1 carry every day.”

Jonas is amazed with how far technology has improved since he was first identified.

“The fact that I can receive instant data of my glucose straight to my phone or smart watch or it can be [shared with] my wife or other family members when I am apart from is just an amazing thing,” he said.

Alongside technology, new treatments aimed at managing diabetes and delaying or altering the disease itself are in development.

“The first immunotherapy capable of delaying type 1’s onset was authorized, and research into protecting or even substituting the body’s insulin-producing cells gained real traction. In labs around the world, scientists are cultivating stem-cell–derived pancreatic beta cells and experimenting with ways to shield them from the body's defenses,” the doctor continued.

“Responsive insulin” is also being engineered to activate only when blood sugar rises, promising a future where insulin works as naturally as the body once did.

“Further progress will definitely continue to emerge. We’re no longer just improving tools; we’re getting closer to changing the disease itself,” the physician stated.

However, while another medical professional agrees that additional innovations will continue to appear, he points out that managing type 1 diabetes remains an intensive undertaking — in terms of health, mentally, and emotionally.

“I sincerely hope that we’ll see more and more focus to talking about and helping with the challenges and the requirements of living with and managing T1D. We need far more of that, too,” he told.

The Singer Employs Personal Wellness to Control His Diabetes

Beyond medication and technology, Jonas shared some approaches he leans on to manage his diabetes.

To begin, he said he learned to be less hard on himself.

“You’re never going to have the perfect day living with this disease and even if you’re very diligent with your diabetes management, there are just things that are a little beyond your influence and being able to take a deep breath, reset, and know that it’s going to be OK on the other side is really crucial,” he said.

While this is hard to do at times, he said he learned to practice this soon after his diagnosis.

Recently, he has focused on taking vitamins, looking after his skin, and staying hydrated.

“It’s a basic thing, but the more water I drink, my glucose levels are better. I don’t know exactly why, but I just find that hydrating has a lot of health benefits,” said Jonas. “I didn’t put as much focus on it when I was younger as I do now, and it’s been really beneficial.”

He also walks daily for 30 minutes or longer for his physical, mental, and psychological health.

“It really centers me and even when it’s cold out, getting out in the open air is really important when a lot of my day, too, is spent inside for hours at a venue or on a movie location or something,” he said.

He leans on his therapist frequently, too.

“I think it’s really vital to do that self-work,” Jonas said.

Most of all, he encourages everyone managing type 1 diabetes to engage with the diabetes community.

“There will be positive days, there will be tough days, but you can climb this challenge, and there’s some incredible people out there whose experiences will really inspire anybody that’s going through tough moments,” he concluded.