The Way The Singer's Management of Diabetes Has Changed Over Two Decades

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

As the Jonas Brothers celebrate their 20th year together, 2025 also marks 20 years since their lead singer's type 1 diabetes diagnosis.

“The alignment is remarkable,” the singer stated. “It’s been a wild journey 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 20 years, he said he has had wonderful and challenging moments managing diabetes. The struggles 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.

“In summary, I’m really thankful to have been able to be transparent about [type 1] and to interact with all these amazing people from all corners of the world who are experiencing their own diabetes journey, and it’s a really significant feeling to feel like you’re a little less alone in it,” he added.

Nick Jonas’ A1C Shoutout to Fans

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 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 global community — a network of over 30,000 people globally who share their experiences with diabetes to help promote a message of strength, determination, and optimism.

“It was really meaningful for me to get to use the Jonas Brothers’ platform as a place to speak about something that’s clearly very personal 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 33-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 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 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 significance for him as an adult, he said it is still relevant.

“Now I [have] this great, big 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 possible to live a full, active life while managing this disease and mindset and perspective and all that is an important piece to powering through.”

Progress in Type 1 Diabetes

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, estimation, and vigilance, according to a board certified endocrinologist.

“Delivery devices replaced multiple daily insulin injections. With time, insulin pumps became lighter and more advanced, and eventually learned to ‘talk’ with the sensors,” the doctor noted.

“Algorithms began adjusting insulin on their own, creating hybrid ‘artificial pancreas’ systems that lift some of the cognitive load people with type 1 carry 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 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 therapies aimed at controlling the condition and slowing or altering the disease itself are in development.

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

“Smart insulin” is also being engineered to become active only when glucose levels rises, promising a future where insulin works as naturally as the body once did.

“More advancements will definitely continue to develop. We’re no longer just enhancing devices; we’re getting nearer to changing the disease itself,” the expert concluded.

However, while another medical professional concurs that additional innovations will continue to develop, he notes that managing type 1 diabetes remains an demanding task — in terms of health, cognitively, and psychologically.

“I truly hope that we’ll see more and more focus to discussing and addressing the burdens and the requirements of having and controlling T1D. We need far more of that, too,” he told.

The Singer Employs Self-Care to Control His Diabetes

Beyond medication and technology, Jonas shared some strategies he relies on to handle his diabetes.

To begin, 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 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 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 focused on taking vitamins, looking after 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 exactly why, but I just find that hydrating has a lot of health advantages,” 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 walks daily for 30 minutes or longer for his bodily, cognitive, and emotional 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 inside for hours at a venue 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 self-work,” Jonas said.

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

“There will be good days, there will be challenging days, but you can scale this challenge, and there’s some incredible people out there whose experiences will really inspire anybody that’s going through difficult times,” said Jonas.