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In 2025, the number 20 carries 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 lead singer's type 1 diabetes diagnosis.

“The alignment is remarkable,” Jonas remarked. “It’s been a wild journey in both… regarding the band, it’s been the ride 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 20 years, he said he has had wonderful and challenging moments living with diabetes. The difficulties of controlling his disease 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 thankful 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 took to the stage during a Jonas Brothers concert and delighted his audience by sharing an uplifting 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 most favorable it’s ever been, in fact, most recently,” said Jonas.

The show was attended by members of a global community — a network of over 30,000 people worldwide who discuss their experiences with diabetes to help promote a message of resilience, perseverance, and positivity.

“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 fitting to get introspective and to tap into 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 journey, 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 impact 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 am part of that has lifted me up 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 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 involved more than five daily shots a day and glucose checks 10 or more times each day. This was a never-ending cycle of needles, estimation, and vigilance, according to a licensed endocrinologist.

“Delivery devices superseded multiple daily insulin injections. With time, insulin pumps became less bulky and more advanced, and eventually learned to ‘talk’ with the glucose monitors,” the doctor noted.

“Algorithms began modifying insulin on their own, creating hybrid ‘artificial pancreas’ systems that lift some of the mental burden people with type 1 carry every day.”

Jonas is impressed 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 incredible thing,” he said.

In addition to technology, new therapies aimed at managing diabetes and delaying or modifying the disease itself are in development.

“The first immunotherapy capable of postponing type 1’s start was authorized, and research into protecting or even substituting the body’s insulin-producing cells acquired real momentum. In labs around the world, scientists are cultivating stem-cell–derived pancreatic beta cells and testing ways to shield them from the body's defenses,” the doctor continued.

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

“More advancements will definitely continue to emerge. We’re no longer just improving tools; we’re getting closer to changing the disease itself,” the expert concluded.

Nevertheless, while another medical professional concurs that additional innovations will continue to appear, he points out that managing type 1 diabetes remains an intensive task — in terms of health, cognitively, and emotionally.

“I sincerely hope that we’ll see more and more focus to discussing and addressing the challenges and the demands of living with and managing T1D. We need far more of that, too,” he told.

Jonas Turns to Personal Wellness to Manage His Diabetes

Beyond medication and technology, Jonas shared some approaches he relies on to manage his diabetes.

First, he said he learned to be less hard on 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 pause, reset, and know that it’s going to be OK on the other side is really crucial,” he said.

While this is difficult to do at times, he said he learned to apply 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 better. I don’t know precisely why, but I just find that drinking water 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 bodily, cognitive, and psychological health.

“It really grounds me and even when it’s cold out, getting out in the open air is really important when a lot of my day, too, is spent indoors 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 vital to do that self-work,” Jonas said.

Most of all, he urges 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 scale this challenge, and there’s some remarkable people out there whose stories will really motivate anybody that’s going through tough moments,” he concluded.