The Way The Singer's Management of Diabetes Has Transformed During Two Decades

This year, the number 20 holds particular meaning for iconic singer Nick Jonas.

As the Jonas Brothers celebrate their 20th year together, 2025 also marks 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 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.”

Alongside 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 advocating and connecting with others through his role and through his foundation 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 wonderful 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.

Nick Jonas’ A1C Shoutout to His Audience

To show appreciation to supporters, 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 visited by members of a worldwide group — a collective of more than 30,000 people worldwide who share their experiences with diabetes to help promote a message of resilience, perseverance, and optimism.

“It was really meaningful for me to get to use the Jonas Brothers’ stage 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 introspective and to explore sort of what life looks like for me as a now 33-year-old person managing this condition,” he said.

Jonas offered the song “A Little Bit Longer” — a melody he wrote at the start of his career and diabetes journey, to those living with 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 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 relevant.

“Now I [have] this vast, supportive community that I belong to 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 viewpoint and all that is an essential piece to powering through.”

Progress in Diabetes Management

Not long ago, life with type 1 diabetes involved more than five daily shots a day and finger sticks 10 or more times daily. This was a never-ending cycle of injections, guesswork, and care, according to a licensed endocrinologist.

“Delivery devices superseded multiple daily insulin injections. With time, insulin pumps became less bulky and more advanced, and eventually learned to ‘talk’ with the sensors,” the expert explained.

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

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

“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 amazing thing,” he said.

In addition to technology, new treatments aimed at managing diabetes and delaying or altering the disease itself are in development.

“The first immune-therapy capable of postponing type 1’s start was authorized, and research into preserving or even substituting the body’s insulin-producing cells acquired real momentum. In labs around the world, scientists are cultivating stem-cell–derived pancreatic beta cells and testing ways to shield them from the body's defenses,” the doctor continued.

“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.

“Further progress will absolutely continue to emerge. We’re no longer just enhancing devices; we’re getting closer to transforming the disease itself,” the expert concluded.

However, while a family physician agrees that additional innovations will continue to appear, he points out that managing type 1 diabetes remains an demanding task — physically, mentally, and emotionally.

“I sincerely hope that we’ll see more and more attention to talking about and addressing the challenges and the requirements of having and controlling T1D. We need much more of that, too,” he told.

Jonas Turns to Self-Care to Manage His Diabetes

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

To begin, 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 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, reset, and know that it’s going to be OK on the other side is really important,” he said.

While this is difficult to do at times, he said he learned to practice this early during his diagnosis.

Lately, he has prioritized taking vitamins, caring for his skin, and staying well-hydrated.

“It’s a simple thing, but the more water I drink, my glucose levels are better. I don’t know exactly why, but I just find that hydrating has a lot of health advantages,” 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 walks daily for 30 minutes or longer for his physical, cognitive, and emotional health.

“It really centers 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 indoors for hours at a concert hall 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 personal development,” Jonas said.

Most of all, he encourages everyone managing 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 stories will really inspire anybody that’s going through tough moments,” said Jonas.