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

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

“The alignment is remarkable,” Jonas remarked. “It’s been a wild journey 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.”

Parallel to the band’s experience over the last two decades, he said he has had wonderful and challenging moments managing diabetes. The struggles of controlling his disease have been the lows, while raising awareness and connecting with others through his role and through his foundation have been a source of happiness.

“Overall, I’m really grateful to have been able to be transparent about [type 1] and to connect 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,” said Jonas.

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 delighted his audience by sharing an inspiring message of hope, accompanied by 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 attended by members of a global community — a network of over 30,000 people worldwide who share their experiences with diabetes to help spread a message of strength, determination, and positivity.

“It was really special for me to get to use the Jonas Brothers’ stage 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 explore kind 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 at the start of his career and diabetes experience, 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 experiences 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 meaning for him as an adult, he said it is still pertinent.

“Now I [have] this vast, supportive community that I belong to that has lifted me up in so many various moments. I think my perspective is possibly a lot more positive now. It is possible to live a big, busy life while managing this disease and mindset and viewpoint and all that is an essential piece to persevering.”

Progress in Diabetes Management

In the past, life with type 1 diabetes involved more than five insulin injections a day and glucose checks 10 or more times each day. This was a constant cycle of injections, estimation, and care, according to a board certified endocrinologist.

“Delivery devices superseded multiple daily insulin injections. With time, insulin pumps became less bulky and smarter, and eventually learned to ‘communicate’ with the sensors,” the doctor noted.

“Algorithms began adjusting insulin automatically, 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 directly on 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 incredible thing,” he said.

In addition to technology, new therapies aimed at managing diabetes and slowing or modifying the disease itself are in development.

“The first immune-therapy capable of delaying type 1’s onset was approved, and research into protecting or even replacing the body’s insulin-producing cells acquired real traction. In labs around the world, scientists are growing lab-grown pancreatic beta cells and experimenting with ways to protect them from immune attack,” said the specialist.

“Responsive insulin” is also being developed to activate only when blood sugar increase, offering a future where insulin works as intuitively as the body once did.

“More advancements will definitely continue to develop. We’re no longer just enhancing devices; we’re getting closer to changing 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 demanding task — physically, cognitively, and emotionally.

“I sincerely hope that we’ll see more and more focus to discussing and addressing the burdens and the demands of living with and managing T1D. We need much more of that, too,” he told.

Jonas Turns to Self-Care to Manage His Diabetes

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

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

“You’re never going to have the ideal 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 practice this soon after his diagnosis.

Recently, 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 more stable. I don’t know precisely why, but I just find that drinking water has a lot of health advantages,” said Jonas. “I didn’t put as much emphasis on it when I was younger as I do now, and it’s been really helpful.”

He also takes 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 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 frequently, too.

“I think it’s really important to do that personal development,” Jonas said.

Above all, he encourages 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 mountain, and there’s some remarkable people out there whose stories will really motivate anybody that’s going through difficult times,” he concluded.