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This year, the number 20 carries special significance for renowned artist Nick Jonas.

As the Jonas Brothers celebrate their 20th year together, 2025 simultaneously signifies 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… regarding the band, 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 world’s greatest fans.”

Alongside the band’s experience over the last 20 years, he said he has had great and tough moments living with diabetes. The difficulties of controlling his disease have been the low points, while raising awareness and connecting with others through his role and through his foundation have been a source of happiness.

“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 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 alone in it,” said Jonas.

Nick Jonas’ A1C Shoutout 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 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 discuss their experiences with diabetes to help promote a message of resilience, determination, and positivity.

“It was really meaningful for me to get to use the Jonas Brothers’ stage 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 disease,” 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 challenges when I was 14 and to see the impact 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 relevant.

“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 positive now. It is possible to live a full, active life while living with this disease and mindset and perspective and all that is an essential piece to persevering.”

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 care, according to a licensed endocrinologist.

“Insulin pumps superseded 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 modifying insulin automatically, creating combined ‘automated delivery’ systems that alleviate some of the cognitive load people with type 1 carry 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 who I’m traveling away from is just an incredible thing,” he said.

Alongside technology, new treatments aimed at controlling the condition and slowing or modifying the disease itself are in development.

“The first immunotherapy capable of postponing type 1’s onset was authorized, and research into preserving or even replacing the body’s insulin-producing cells acquired real momentum. In labs around the world, scientists are growing stem-cell–derived pancreatic beta cells and experimenting with ways to shield them from immune attack,” said the specialist.

“Smart insulin” is also being developed to activate only when blood sugar rises, promising a future where insulin works as naturally as the body once did.

“More advancements will absolutely continue to develop. We’re no longer just enhancing devices; we’re getting closer to transforming the disease itself,” the physician stated.

Nevertheless, while another medical professional agrees that further advancements will continue to appear, he points out that managing type 1 diabetes remains an demanding undertaking — in terms of health, cognitively, and psychologically.

“I sincerely hope that we’ll see more and more focus to discussing and helping with the burdens and the requirements of living with and controlling T1D. We need far more of that, too,” he commented.

The Singer Employs Self-Care to Manage His Diabetes

In addition to medication and technology, Jonas shared some approaches 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 early during his diagnosis.

Recently, 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 more stable. I don’t know precisely why, but I just find that hydrating 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 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 movie location or something,” he said.

He leans on his therapist regularly, too.

“I think it’s really important to do that personal development,” 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 experiences will really motivate anybody that’s going through difficult times,” said Jonas.