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

While the band commemorates their 20th year as a band, 2025 also marks 20 years since their lead singer's type 1 diabetes discovery.

“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 most amazing fans.”

Parallel to the band’s experience over the last 20 years, he said he has had great and tough moments managing diabetes. The difficulties of controlling his disease have been the low points, while raising awareness and engaging others through his role and through his non-profit have brought him joy.

“Overall, 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 path, and it’s a really big thing 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, accompanied by a shout-out to his A1C.

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

The show was visited by members of a worldwide group — a collective of over 30,000 people globally who share their experiences with diabetes to help spread a message of resilience, 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 important to me and on World Diabetes Day, I think it’s fitting to get introspective and to explore sort 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 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 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 assumed a new meaning for him as an adult, he said it is still pertinent.

“Now I [have] this great, big community that I belong to that has supported me in so many various moments. I think my perspective is perhaps a lot more optimistic now. It is possible to live a full, active life while living with this disease and mindset and perspective and all that is an important piece to powering through.”

Advancements in Diabetes Management

In the past, life with type 1 diabetes meant more than five daily shots a day and finger sticks 10 or more times each day. This was a constant cycle of needles, estimation, and vigilance, according to a board certified endocrinologist.

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

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

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

“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.

In addition to technology, new treatments aimed at managing diabetes and slowing or modifying the disease itself are being researched.

“The first immunotherapy capable of delaying type 1’s start was authorized, and research into preserving 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 testing ways to protect them from the body's defenses,” said the specialist.

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

“More advancements will absolutely continue to emerge. 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 undertaking — in terms of health, mentally, and emotionally.

“I truly hope that we’ll see more and more focus to talking about and addressing the burdens and the requirements of living with and controlling T1D. We need much more of that, too,” he commented.

Jonas Turns to Personal Wellness to Manage His Diabetes

In addition to medication and technology, Jonas shared 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 ideal 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 hard to do at times, he said he learned to practice this soon after his diagnosis.

Lately, he has prioritized taking vitamins, caring for his skin, and staying hydrated.

“It’s a simple 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 advantages,” said Jonas. “I didn’t put as much focus on it earlier in my life as I do now, and it’s been really beneficial.”

He also takes 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 inside for hours at a concert hall or on a movie location or something,” he said.

He relies on his therapist frequently, too.

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

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

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