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In 2025, the number 20 carries special significance for renowned artist Nick Jonas.

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

“It’s crazy how it lined up,” the singer stated. “It's been an incredible ride in both… in the Brothers sense, it’s been the adventure 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.”

Alongside the band’s experience over the last 20 years, he said he has had wonderful and challenging moments living with diabetes. The struggles of managing his condition have been the low points, while advocating and engaging others as a spokesperson and through his non-profit have been a source of happiness.

“Overall, I’m really thankful to have been able to be open about [type 1] and to interact with all these wonderful 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.

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 inspiring message of hope, along with a shout-out to his A1C.

“My A1C, which is a collection of numbers over a three-month period, was the best it’s ever been, in fact, most recently,” he revealed.

The show was visited by members of a global community — a collective of over 30,000 people worldwide who discuss their experiences with diabetes to help spread a message of resilience, perseverance, and optimism.

“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 fitting to get reflective and to explore kind of what life looks like for me as a now thirty-three-year-old person managing this disease,” 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 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 effect it still has to this day with the fan base,” he said.

While the song has taken on a new meaning for him as an adult, he said it is still pertinent.

“Now I [have] this vast, supportive community that I am part of 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 managing this disease and outlook and viewpoint and all that is an important piece to persevering.”

Advancements in Diabetes Management

In the past, 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 constant cycle of needles, guesswork, and vigilance, according to a licensed endocrinologist.

“Insulin pumps superseded multiple daily insulin injections.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

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

Jonas is impressed with how far technology has advanced since he was first identified.

“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 when I am apart from is just an amazing 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 immune-therapy capable of delaying type 1’s onset was authorized, and research into protecting or even replacing the body’s insulin-producing cells acquired real momentum. In labs around the world, scientists are growing lab-grown pancreatic beta cells and experimenting with ways to shield them from the body's defenses,” the doctor continued.

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

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

However, while a family physician concurs that additional innovations will continue to develop, he notes that managing type 1 diabetes remains an intensive task — physically, mentally, and psychologically.

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

The Singer Employs Personal Wellness to Control His Diabetes

In addition to medication and technology, Jonas discussed some strategies he leans on to manage his diabetes.

To begin, he said he learned to take pressure off himself.

“You’re never going to have the perfect 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 pause, reset, and know that it’s going to be OK on the other side is really crucial,” he said.

While this is hard to do at times, he said he learned to apply this soon after 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 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 helpful.”

He also takes walks daily for 30 minutes or longer for his physical, mental, and psychological health.

“It really centers 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 venue or on a movie location or something,” he said.

He relies on his therapist regularly, too.

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