🔗 Share this article

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

As the Jonas Brothers celebrate their 20th year together, 2025 also marks 20 years since their frontman's type 1 diabetes discovery.

“The alignment is remarkable,” the singer stated. “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 20 years, he said he has had great and tough moments living with diabetes. The struggles of managing his condition have been the lows, while raising awareness and connecting with others as a spokesperson and through his foundation have brought him joy.

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

The Singer's A1C Announcement to His Audience

To thank his fans, on World Diabetes Day (November 14), he stepped onto the platform during a Jonas Brothers concert and delighted his audience by sharing an inspiring message of hope, accompanied by a shout-out to his A1C.

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

The show was attended by members of a global community — a collective of over 30,000 people worldwide who discuss their experiences with diabetes to help spread a message of strength, perseverance, and optimism.

“It was really special 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 explore kind 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 early in his career and diabetes experience, 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 audience,” he said.

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

“Now I [have] this great, big community that I am part of that has lifted me up in so many various moments. I think my outlook is possibly a lot more optimistic now. It is possible to live a full, active life while managing this disease and outlook and viewpoint and all that is an important piece to persevering.”

Advancements in Type 1 Diabetes

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

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

“Automated systems began adjusting insulin on their own, creating hybrid ‘artificial pancreas’ systems that lift some of the cognitive load people with type 1 bear every day.”

Jonas is amazed with how far technology has advanced 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 who I’m traveling away from is just an amazing thing,” he said.

Alongside technology, new therapies aimed at controlling the condition and delaying or altering the disease itself are being researched.

“The first immune-therapy capable of postponing type 1’s onset was approved, and research into protecting or even replacing the body’s insulin-producing cells acquired real traction. In labs around the world, scientists are cultivating stem-cell–derived pancreatic beta cells and experimenting with ways to protect them from immune attack,” said the specialist.

“Smart insulin” is also being engineered to become active only when glucose levels increase, promising a future where insulin works as intuitively as the body once did.

“More advancements will absolutely continue to develop. We’re no longer just enhancing devices; we’re getting closer to transforming the disease itself,” the expert concluded.

Nevertheless, while another medical professional concurs that further advancements will continue to develop, he notes that managing type 1 diabetes remains an demanding task — physically, mentally, and psychologically.

“I truly hope that we’ll see more and more attention to discussing and helping with the burdens and the demands of having and controlling T1D. We need far more of that, too,” he commented.

Jonas Turns to Self-Care to Control His Diabetes

In addition to medication and technology, Jonas discussed some strategies he relies on to manage his diabetes.

To begin, he said he learned to take pressure off himself.

“You’re never going to have the perfect day while managing this disease and even if you’re super on top of your diabetes management, there are just things that are a little out of your control 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 difficult to do at times, he said he learned to practice this soon after his diagnosis.

Lately, he has prioritized taking vitamins, looking after 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 precisely why, but I just find that hydrating has a lot of health benefits,” said Jonas. “I didn’t put as much emphasis 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 physical, mental, and emotional health.

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

He leans on his therapist regularly, 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 challenging days, but you can climb this challenge, and there’s some incredible people out there whose stories will really motivate anybody that’s going through difficult times,” he concluded.