- Frontman Nick Jonas has been living with type 1 diabetes for 20 years.
- The group's “Anniversary Tour” marks its 20th anniversary alongside Nick Jonas’s two-decade experience with diabetes.
- Nick Jonas discusses how both milestones have influenced his life and how he uses his music to raise awareness for type 1 diabetes.
In 2025, the number 20 holds particular meaning for iconic singer Nick Jonas.
As the Jonas Brothers celebrate their 20th year as a band, 2025 also marks 20 years since their lead singer's type 1 diabetes discovery.
“It’s crazy how it lined up,” Jonas remarked. “It’s been a wild journey 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 most amazing fans.”
Parallel to 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 engaging others through his role and through his foundation have been a source of happiness.
“In summary, 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 navigating 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 delighted his audience by sharing an uplifting message of hope, along with a mention to his A1C.
“My A1C, which is a collection of numbers over a 90-day period, was the best it’s ever been, in fact, most recently,” said Jonas.
The show was attended by members of a global community — a network of more than 30,000 people worldwide 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’ 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 tap into sort of what life looks like for me as a now 33-year-old person living with this condition,” he said.
Jonas dedicated 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 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 assumed 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 possible to live a full, active life while living with this disease and mindset and viewpoint and all that is an important 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 glucose checks 10 or more times daily. This was a never-ending cycle of injections, guesswork, and vigilance, according to a licensed 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 ‘automated delivery’ systems that alleviate some of the cognitive load people with type 1 bear 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 who I’m traveling away from is just an amazing thing,” he said.
Alongside technology, new treatments aimed at controlling the condition and slowing or altering the disease itself are being researched.
“The first immune-therapy 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 the body's defenses,” the doctor continued.
“Responsive insulin” is also being developed to activate only when blood sugar rises, promising a future where insulin works as intuitively 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 a family physician concurs that additional innovations will continue to develop, he points out that managing type 1 diabetes remains an demanding task — in terms of health, cognitively, and emotionally.
“I truly hope that we’ll see more and more attention to discussing and addressing the burdens and the demands of living with and controlling T1D. We need far more of that, too,” he told.
Jonas Turns to Self-Care to Manage His Diabetes
In addition to medication and technology, Jonas shared some approaches he leans on to handle his diabetes.
First, 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 very diligent with your diabetes management, there are just things that are a little out of your control and being able to pause, 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 apply this early during his diagnosis.
Recently, he has prioritized taking vitamins, looking after his skin, and staying hydrated.
“It’s a basic 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,” 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 open 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 engage with the diabetes community.
“There will be good days, there will be challenging days, but you can scale this challenge, and there’s some remarkable people out there whose stories will really inspire anybody that’s going through tough moments,” he concluded.
