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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 also marks 20 years since their frontman's type 1 diabetes diagnosis.

“The alignment is remarkable,” the singer stated. “It’s been a wild journey in both… regarding the band, it’s been the adventure 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 managing his condition have been the low points, while advocating and connecting with others through his role and through his non-profit have been a source of happiness.

“In summary, I’m really thankful to have been able to be transparent about [type 1] and to interact with all these amazing people from all regions 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 alone in it,” said Jonas.

Nick Jonas’ A1C Shoutout to His Audience

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

“My A1C, which is a average of numbers over a 90-day period, was the best it’s ever been, actually, most recently,” said Jonas.

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

“It was really meaningful for me to get to use the Jonas Brothers’ platform 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 tap into sort of what life looks like for me as a now thirty-three-year-old person managing this disease,” he said.

Jonas offered the song “A Little Bit Longer” — a melody he wrote early in his career and diabetes experience, 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 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 meaning for him as an adult, he said it is still relevant.

“Now I [have] this vast, supportive community that I am part of that has supported me in so many various moments. I think my perspective is possibly a lot more positive now. It is feasible to live a big, busy life while living with this disease and outlook and viewpoint and all that is an important 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 finger sticks 10 or more times each day. This was a never-ending cycle of injections, guesswork, and care, 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 ‘communicate’ with the glucose monitors,” the expert explained.

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

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

“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 when I am apart from is just an amazing thing,” he said.

In addition to technology, new treatments 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 preserving or even replacing the body’s insulin-producing cells gained real momentum. In labs around the world, scientists are growing stem-cell–derived pancreatic beta cells and experimenting with ways to protect them from immune attack,” the doctor continued.

“Smart insulin” is also being developed to activate only when blood sugar 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 improving tools; we’re getting closer to changing the disease itself,” the expert concluded.

However, while a family physician concurs that additional innovations will continue to develop, he points out that managing type 1 diabetes remains an demanding task — physically, mentally, 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.

The Singer Employs Personal Wellness to Control His Diabetes

In addition to medication and technology, Jonas discussed some strategies he relies 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 super on top of your diabetes management, there are just things that are a little beyond your influence and being able to pause, 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 early during his diagnosis.

Lately, 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 more stable. I don’t know precisely why, but I just find that hydrating has a lot of health advantages,” he noted. “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 psychological 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 relies on his therapist frequently, too.

“I think it’s really important to do that self-work,” 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 climb this challenge, and there’s some remarkable people out there whose stories will really inspire anybody that’s going through tough moments,” he concluded.