- Frontman Nick Jonas has managed type 1 diabetes for two decades.
- The group's “Anniversary Tour” celebrates its 20th anniversary alongside Nick Jonas’s two-decade experience with diabetes.
- Nick Jonas discusses how both milestones have impacted his life and how he uses his music to raise awareness for type 1 diabetes.
In 2025, the number 20 carries particular meaning 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.
“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 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 two decades, he said he has had great and tough moments managing diabetes. The difficulties of controlling his disease have been the low points, while advocating and connecting with others through his role and through his non-profit have brought him joy.
“Overall, I’m really grateful to have been able to be open about [type 1] and to connect with all these wonderful people from all regions of the world who are experiencing their own diabetes path, 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 Fans
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, accompanied by a shout-out to his A1C.
“My A1C, which is a collection of numbers over a 90-day period, was the best it’s ever been, actually, most recently,” said Jonas.
The show was visited by members of a worldwide group — a collective of more than 30,000 people globally who share their experiences with diabetes to help spread 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 clearly very important 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 thirty-three-year-old person managing this disease,” 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 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 taken on a new significance for him as an adult, he said it is still pertinent.
“Now I [have] this great, big community that I am part of that has lifted me up in so many various moments. I think my outlook is perhaps a lot more positive now. It is possible to live a big, busy life while living with this disease and mindset and viewpoint and all that is an important piece to powering through.”
Progress in Type 1 Diabetes
In the past, life with type 1 diabetes involved more than five insulin injections a day and finger sticks 10 or more times daily. This was a constant cycle of needles, estimation, and vigilance, according to a licensed endocrinologist.
“Insulin pumps replaced multiple daily insulin injections. With time, insulin pumps became lighter and more advanced, and eventually learned to ‘communicate’ with the glucose monitors,” the expert explained.
“Automated systems began modifying insulin automatically, creating hybrid ‘artificial pancreas’ systems that lift some of the cognitive load people with type 1 bear every day.”
Jonas is impressed with how far technology has improved since he was first identified.
“The fact that I can receive real time readings of my glucose directly on 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 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 approved, and research into preserving or even substituting the body’s insulin-producing cells gained real traction. In labs around the world, scientists are cultivating stem-cell–derived pancreatic beta cells and experimenting with ways to protect them from immune attack,” the doctor continued.
“Smart insulin” is also being engineered to become active only when blood sugar increase, offering a future where insulin works as intuitively as the body once did.
“More advancements will absolutely continue to develop. We’re no longer just improving tools; we’re getting closer to changing the disease itself,” the physician stated.
Nevertheless, while a family physician agrees that further advancements will continue to develop, he points out that managing type 1 diabetes remains an intensive task — physically, cognitively, and psychologically.
“I truly hope that we’ll see more and more focus to discussing and helping with the challenges and the demands of having and controlling T1D. We need much more of that, too,” he told.
The Singer Employs Self-Care to Manage His Diabetes
Beyond medication and technology, Jonas shared some strategies he leans on to handle his diabetes.
First, 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, reset, 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 soon after his diagnosis.
Lately, he has focused on 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,” he noted. “I didn’t put as much emphasis 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 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 venue or on a film set or something,” he said.
He relies on his therapist frequently, too.
“I think it’s really important to do that self-work,” Jonas said.
Above all, he urges everyone living with 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 experiences will really motivate anybody that’s going through tough moments,” said Jonas.
