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In 2025, the number 20 carries special significance for iconic singer 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.

“It’s crazy how it lined up,” Jonas remarked. “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 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 wonderful and challenging moments living with diabetes. The struggles of controlling his disease have been the lows, while raising awareness and connecting with others through his role 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 connect 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 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 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 most favorable it’s ever been, in fact, most recently,” he revealed.

The show was visited by members of a worldwide group — a collective of over 30,000 people globally 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’ platform as a place to speak about something that’s clearly 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 dedicated the song “A Little Bit Longer” — a tune he wrote at the start of his career and diabetes experience, to those affected by 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 taken on a new significance 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 outlook is possibly a lot more optimistic now. It is feasible to live a big, busy life while managing this disease and outlook and perspective and all that is an essential piece to persevering.”

Advancements in Type 1 Diabetes

Not long ago, 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 constant cycle of needles, guesswork, and care, as stated by a board certified endocrinologist.

“Insulin pumps superseded multiple daily insulin injections. With time, insulin pumps became lighter and more advanced, and eventually learned to ‘communicate’ with the sensors,” the expert explained.

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

Jonas is amazed with how far technology has improved since he was first diagnosed.

“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.

Alongside technology, new therapies aimed at controlling the condition and slowing or altering the disease itself are being researched.

“The first immune-therapy capable of delaying type 1’s onset was approved, and research into protecting or even substituting the body’s insulin-producing cells gained real traction. In labs around the world, scientists are cultivating stem-cell–derived pancreatic beta cells and experimenting with ways to protect them from the body's defenses,” said the specialist.

“Smart insulin” is also being engineered to activate only when glucose levels increase, 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 changing the disease itself,” the expert concluded.

However, while a family physician agrees that additional innovations will continue to develop, he points out that managing type 1 diabetes remains an intensive task — physically, cognitively, and psychologically.

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

The Singer Employs Personal Wellness to Control His Diabetes

In addition to medication and technology, Jonas shared some strategies he leans 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 beyond your influence and being able to take a deep breath, recalibrate, 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 practice this early during his diagnosis.

Recently, he has prioritized taking vitamins, looking after his skin, and staying well-hydrated.

“It’s a basic 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 benefits,” he noted. “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, 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 inside for hours at a concert hall or on a film set or something,” he said.

He leans on his therapist regularly, too.

“I think it’s really important to do that self-work,” Jonas said.

Most of all, he urges everyone living with type 1 diabetes to take part in the diabetes community.

“There will be good days, there will be tough days, but you can scale this mountain, and there’s some remarkable people out there whose stories will really motivate anybody that’s going through tough moments,” said Jonas.