🔗 Share this article

In 2025, the number 20 holds special significance for iconic singer 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… regarding the band, it’s been the ride of a lifetime, and we’ve been so blessed to be able to do this for 20 years now and to have the support of the world’s greatest 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 struggles of managing his condition have been the lows, while raising awareness and engaging others through his role and through his foundation have brought him joy.

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

Nick Jonas’ A1C Shoutout to Fans

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 shout-out to his A1C.

“My A1C, which is a collection of numbers over a 90-day period, was the most favorable it’s ever been, actually, most recently,” he revealed.

The show was visited by members of a worldwide group — a network of over 30,000 people worldwide who share their experiences with diabetes to help spread a message of resilience, perseverance, and optimism.

“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 reflective and to explore sort of what life looks like for me as a now thirty-three-year-old person living with 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 living with 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 impact it still has to this day with the fan base,” he said.

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

“Now I [have] this great, big community that I belong to that has supported me in so many various moments. I think my outlook is possibly a lot more positive now. It is possible to live a big, busy life while managing this disease and mindset and perspective and all that is an important piece to powering through.”

Progress in Type 1 Diabetes

In the past, life with type 1 diabetes meant more than five daily shots a day and finger sticks 10 or more times each day. This was a constant cycle of injections, guesswork, and vigilance, as stated by a board certified endocrinologist.

“Delivery devices replaced multiple daily insulin injections. With time, insulin pumps became lighter and smarter, and eventually learned to ‘talk’ with the sensors,” the doctor noted.

“Algorithms began modifying insulin automatically, creating combined ‘artificial pancreas’ systems that alleviate some of the mental burden people with type 1 carry every day.”

Jonas is impressed with how far technology has improved since he was first diagnosed.

“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 who I’m traveling away from is just an amazing thing,” he said.

Alongside technology, new therapies aimed at managing diabetes and delaying or modifying the disease itself are being researched.

“The first immune-therapy capable of postponing type 1’s start was approved, and research into protecting or even replacing the body’s insulin-producing cells gained real momentum. In labs around the world, scientists are cultivating lab-grown pancreatic beta cells and testing ways to protect them from immune attack,” the doctor continued.

“Smart insulin” is also being developed to activate only when glucose levels increase, offering a future where insulin works as intuitively as the body once did.

“Further progress will absolutely continue to emerge. We’re no longer just enhancing devices; 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, cognitively, and emotionally.

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

Jonas Turns to Self-Care to Control His Diabetes

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

First, 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 super on top of 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 important,” he said.

While this is hard to do at times, he said he learned to apply 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 drinking water has a lot of health advantages,” said Jonas. “I didn’t put as much emphasis on it earlier in my life as I do now, and it’s been really helpful.”

He also takes walks daily for 30 minutes or longer for his bodily, cognitive, and emotional health.

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

He leans on his therapist regularly, too.

“I think it’s really vital to do that personal development,” Jonas said.

Above all, he urges everyone living with type 1 diabetes to take part in the diabetes community.

“There will be positive days, there will be challenging days, but you can scale this mountain, and there’s some incredible people out there whose experiences will really motivate anybody that’s going through difficult times,” he concluded.