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In 2025, the number 20 carries special significance for iconic singer Nick Jonas.

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

“The alignment is remarkable,” 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.”

Alongside the band’s experience over the last 20 years, he said he has had wonderful and challenging moments living with diabetes. The struggles of controlling his disease have been the low points, while advocating and connecting with others through his role and through his foundation have been a source of happiness.

“Overall, 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,” said Jonas.

Nick Jonas’ A1C Shoutout to His Audience

To show appreciation to supporters, on World Diabetes Day (November 14), he stepped onto the platform during a Jonas Brothers concert and surprised 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 90-day period, was the best it’s ever been, actually, most recently,” said Jonas.

The show was attended by members of a global community — a network of over 30,000 people globally who discuss their experiences with diabetes to help spread a message of strength, determination, 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 clearly very important 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 33-year-old person managing this condition,” he said.

Jonas offered the song “A Little Bit Longer” — a tune he wrote at the start of his career and diabetes experience, 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 experiences 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 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 belong to that has lifted me up in so many various moments. I think my perspective is perhaps a lot more positive now. It is feasible to live a big, busy life while living with this disease and outlook and perspective and all that is an essential piece to powering through.”

Progress in Diabetes Management

Not long ago, life with type 1 diabetes meant more than five daily shots a day and glucose checks 10 or more times each day. This was a never-ending cycle of injections, guesswork, and care, according to a board certified endocrinologist.

“Delivery devices superseded multiple daily insulin injections.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

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

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

“The fact that I can receive real time readings of my glucose directly on 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 slowing or altering the disease itself are in development.

“The first immunotherapy capable of delaying type 1’s onset was approved, and research into protecting or even replacing the body’s insulin-producing cells gained 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.

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

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

However, while a family physician concurs that additional innovations will continue to develop, he notes that managing type 1 diabetes remains an demanding task — in terms of health, cognitively, and psychologically.

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

Jonas Turns to Personal Wellness to Control His Diabetes

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

First, 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 very diligent with your diabetes management, there are just things that are a little out of your control and being able to take a deep breath, recalibrate, 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.

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

“It’s a simple thing, but the more water I drink, my glucose levels are more stable. 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 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 bodily, cognitive, 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 venue or on a movie location or something,” he said.

He leans on his therapist frequently, too.

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

Most of all, he encourages everyone managing type 1 diabetes to take part in the diabetes community.

“There will be good days, there will be challenging days, but you can scale this challenge, and there’s some remarkable people out there whose stories will really motivate anybody that’s going through tough moments,” said Jonas.