🔗 Share this article

This year, the number 20 carries special significance for iconic singer Nick Jonas.

As the Jonas Brothers celebrate their 20th year together, 2025 simultaneously signifies 20 years since their lead singer's type 1 diabetes discovery.

“The alignment is remarkable,” Jonas remarked. “It’s been a wild journey 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 most amazing fans.”

Alongside the band’s experience over the last two decades, he said he has had great and tough moments managing diabetes. The struggles of managing his condition have been the lows, while raising awareness and engaging others through his role and through his non-profit have brought him joy.

“In summary, I’m really grateful to have been able to be transparent about [type 1] and to interact with all these wonderful people from all corners of the world who are navigating their own diabetes path, and it’s a really big thing to feel like you’re a little less isolated in it,” said Jonas.

Nick Jonas’ A1C Shoutout to Fans

To show appreciation to supporters, on World Diabetes Day (November 14), he stepped onto the platform during a Jonas Brothers concert and delighted his audience by sharing an uplifting message of hope, along with a shout-out to his A1C.

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

The show was visited by members of a worldwide group — a collective of over 30,000 people worldwide who discuss their experiences with diabetes to help spread a message of strength, determination, 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 clearly very personal 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 33-year-old person managing this condition,” he said.

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

“It’s a really significant 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 audience,” he said.

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

“Now I [have] this vast, supportive community that I am part of that has supported me in so many various moments. I think my outlook is perhaps a lot more positive now. It is possible to live a full, active life while living with this disease and outlook and perspective and all that is an essential piece to persevering.”

Advancements in Type 1 Diabetes

In the past, life with type 1 diabetes involved more than five daily shots a day and glucose checks 10 or more times each day. This was a constant cycle of needles, guesswork, and care, according to a board certified endocrinologist.

“Delivery devices replaced multiple daily insulin injections. With time, insulin pumps became lighter and more advanced, and eventually learned to ‘communicate’ with the sensors,” the expert explained.

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

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

“The fact that I can receive real time readings 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 therapies aimed at managing diabetes and delaying or modifying the disease itself are in development.

“The first immunotherapy capable of delaying type 1’s onset was approved, and research into protecting or even substituting the body’s insulin-producing cells acquired real traction. In labs around the world, scientists are growing lab-grown pancreatic beta cells and experimenting with ways to shield them from the body's defenses,” said the specialist.

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

“More advancements will definitely continue to develop. 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 further advancements will continue to appear, he points out that managing type 1 diabetes remains an intensive task — in terms of health, cognitively, and psychologically.

“I sincerely hope that we’ll see more and more attention to discussing and addressing the burdens and the demands of living with and managing T1D. We need much more of that, too,” he commented.

Jonas Turns to Self-Care to Manage His Diabetes

In addition to medication and technology, Jonas shared some approaches he relies on to handle 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 difficult to do at times, he said he learned to practice this soon after his diagnosis.

Lately, he has focused on taking vitamins, caring for his skin, and staying well-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,” he noted. “I didn’t put as much focus on it when I was younger as I do now, and it’s been really helpful.”

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

“It really grounds 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 concert hall or on a movie location or something,” he said.

He relies on his therapist regularly, too.

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

Most of all, he urges everyone living with type 1 diabetes to engage with the diabetes community.

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