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In 2025, the number 20 holds special significance for renowned artist Nick Jonas.

While the band commemorates their 20th year together, 2025 simultaneously signifies 20 years since their frontman's type 1 diabetes diagnosis.

“It’s crazy how it lined up,” 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 fortunate 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 great and tough 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 been a source of happiness.

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

The Singer's A1C Announcement 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 inspiring message of hope, along with a mention to his A1C.

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

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

“It was really meaningful for me to get to use the Jonas Brothers’ platform 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 33-year-old person managing this condition,” he said.

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

“Now I [have] this vast, supportive community that I belong to 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 managing this disease and mindset and perspective and all that is an essential piece to powering through.”

Advancements in Type 1 Diabetes

In the past, life with type 1 diabetes meant more than five insulin injections a day and finger sticks 10 or more times each day. This was a never-ending cycle of injections, guesswork, and care, according to a licensed endocrinologist.

“Insulin pumps replaced multiple daily insulin injections. With time, insulin pumps became less bulky and smarter, and eventually learned to ‘communicate’ with the sensors,” the doctor noted.

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

Jonas is amazed with how far technology has improved 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 when I am apart from is just an amazing thing,” he said.

Alongside technology, new treatments aimed at managing diabetes and slowing or altering the disease itself are in development.

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

“Smart insulin” is also being engineered to become active only when blood sugar rises, 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 improving tools; we’re getting closer to transforming the disease itself,” the physician stated.

However, while another medical professional concurs that further advancements will continue to appear, he notes that managing type 1 diabetes remains an demanding task — physically, cognitively, and emotionally.

“I sincerely hope that we’ll see more and more focus to talking about and addressing the challenges and the demands of living with and managing T1D. We need much 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.

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, recalibrate, 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 early during his diagnosis.

Lately, he has focused on taking vitamins, caring for 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,” he noted. “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 takes walks daily for 30 minutes or longer for his bodily, cognitive, and psychological 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 relies on his therapist regularly, too.

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

Above all, he encourages 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 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.