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This year, the number 20 holds special significance for iconic singer Nick Jonas.

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

“The alignment is remarkable,” the singer stated. “It's been an incredible ride in both… in the Brothers sense, 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 most amazing fans.”

Alongside the band’s experience over the last two decades, he said he has had wonderful and challenging moments living with diabetes. The difficulties of controlling his disease have been the low points, while advocating and engaging others as a spokesperson and through his non-profit have brought him joy.

“Overall, I’m really grateful to have been able to be open about [type 1] and to interact with all these wonderful people from all regions of the world who are navigating their own diabetes path, and it’s a really significant feeling to feel like you’re a little less isolated in it,” he added.

Nick Jonas’ A1C Shoutout to His Audience

To thank his fans, 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 mention to his A1C.

“My A1C, which is a average of numbers over a three-month period, was the best 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 globally who share their experiences with diabetes to help promote a message of resilience, determination, and positivity.

“It was really special for me to get to use the Jonas Brothers’ platform as a place to speak about something that’s obviously very personal to me and on World Diabetes Day, I think it’s natural to get reflective and to explore sort of what life looks like for me as a now thirty-three-year-old person living with this condition,” he said.

Jonas dedicated the song “A Little Bit Longer” — a tune he wrote early in 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 audience,” 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 lifted me up in so many different moments. I think my outlook is possibly a lot more positive now. It is possible to live a big, busy life while managing this disease and outlook and perspective and all that is an essential piece to powering through.”

Advancements 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 constant cycle of needles, guesswork, and care, according to a licensed endocrinologist.

“Insulin pumps replaced multiple daily insulin injections. With time, insulin pumps became lighter and more advanced, and eventually learned to ‘talk’ with the glucose monitors,” the expert explained.

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

Jonas is amazed 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 who I’m traveling away from is just an amazing thing,” he said.

In addition to technology, new treatments aimed at managing diabetes and slowing or altering 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 gained real traction. 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.

“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.

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

However, while a family physician agrees that additional innovations will continue to appear, he notes that managing type 1 diabetes remains an demanding undertaking — in terms of health, mentally, and psychologically.

“I sincerely hope that we’ll see more and more focus to talking about and addressing the challenges and the demands of having and managing T1D. We need far more of that, too,” he commented.

Jonas Turns to Self-Care to Control His Diabetes

Beyond medication and technology, Jonas discussed some approaches he leans on to handle his diabetes.

First, he said he learned to take pressure off himself.

“You’re never going to have the perfect day living with 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 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 focused on taking vitamins, caring for his skin, and staying hydrated.

“It’s a basic thing, but the more water I drink, my glucose levels are better. I don’t know exactly why, but I just find that drinking water has a lot of health benefits,” 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 takes walks daily for 30 minutes or longer for his physical, 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 film set or something,” he said.

He leans on his therapist regularly, too.

“I think it’s really vital 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 good days, there will be tough days, but you can scale this challenge, and there’s some incredible people out there whose experiences will really motivate anybody that’s going through difficult times,” said Jonas.