- Frontman Nick Jonas has managed type 1 diabetes for 20 years.
- The group's “Anniversary Tour” celebrates its 20th anniversary alongside Nick Jonas’s 20-year journey with diabetes.
- Nick Jonas shares how these two anniversaries 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 simultaneously signifies 20 years since their lead singer's type 1 diabetes diagnosis.
“The alignment is remarkable,” the singer stated. “It’s been a wild journey in both… regarding the band, it’s been the adventure 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 world’s greatest fans.”
Alongside the band’s experience over the last two decades, he said he has had wonderful and challenging moments managing diabetes. The struggles of managing his condition have been the lows, while advocating and connecting with others as a spokesperson and through his non-profit have brought him joy.
“Overall, I’m really thankful to have been able to be transparent about [type 1] and to interact with all these wonderful people from all corners 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 alone 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 delighted his audience by sharing an uplifting message of hope, along with a shout-out to his A1C.
“My A1C, which is a average of numbers over a three-month period, was the most favorable 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 globally who discuss their experiences with diabetes to help spread 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 fitting to get reflective and to explore sort of what life looks like for me as a now 33-year-old person managing this disease,” he said.
Jonas offered the song “A Little Bit Longer” — a melody he wrote early in 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 impact 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 great, big community that I belong to that has supported me in so many various moments. I think my perspective is possibly a lot more positive now. It is feasible to live a full, active life while living with this disease and mindset and viewpoint and all that is an essential piece to persevering.”
Advancements in Type 1 Diabetes
Not long ago, life with type 1 diabetes meant more than five insulin injections a day and glucose checks 10 or more times each day. This was a never-ending cycle of needles, guesswork, and vigilance, according to a licensed endocrinologist.
“Delivery devices superseded multiple daily insulin injections. With time, insulin pumps became lighter and smarter, and eventually learned to ‘talk’ with the sensors,” the doctor noted.
“Algorithms began modifying insulin automatically, creating hybrid ‘automated delivery’ systems that lift some of the cognitive load people with type 1 bear every day.”
Jonas is amazed with how far technology has advanced 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 therapies aimed at controlling the condition and slowing or modifying the disease itself are in development.
“The first immunotherapy capable of delaying type 1’s onset was authorized, and research into preserving or even replacing the body’s insulin-producing cells gained real traction. In labs around the world, scientists are cultivating lab-grown pancreatic beta cells and testing ways to shield them from the body's defenses,” said the specialist.
“Responsive insulin” is also being engineered to activate only when blood sugar increase, offering a future where insulin works as intuitively as the body once did.
“Further progress will definitely continue to emerge. We’re no longer just improving tools; we’re getting nearer to changing the disease itself,” the physician stated.
However, while another medical professional concurs that additional innovations will continue to appear, he points out that managing type 1 diabetes remains an demanding undertaking — in terms of health, mentally, and emotionally.
“I truly hope that we’ll see more and more focus to discussing and helping with the burdens and the demands of having and controlling T1D. We need much more of that, too,” he told.
The Singer Employs Self-Care to Control His Diabetes
Beyond medication and technology, Jonas discussed some approaches he relies on to handle his diabetes.
First, he said he learned to take pressure off himself.
“You’re never going to have the ideal 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 beyond your influence and being able to take a deep breath, 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 practice this soon after his diagnosis.
Lately, he has prioritized taking vitamins, looking after his skin, and staying hydrated.
“It’s a simple thing, but the more water I drink, my glucose levels are better. 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 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 bodily, cognitive, 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 concert hall or on a movie location or something,” he said.
He relies on his therapist frequently, too.
“I think it’s really vital to do that personal development,” Jonas said.
Above all, he urges everyone managing type 1 diabetes to take part in 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,” he concluded.
