- Frontman Nick Jonas has managed type 1 diabetes for 20 years.
- The group's “Anniversary Tour” celebrates its 20th anniversary concurrent with Nick Jonas’s 20-year journey with diabetes.
- Nick Jonas discusses how both milestones have influenced his life and how he uses his music to promote understanding for type 1 diabetes.
This year, the number 20 holds particular meaning for renowned artist Nick Jonas.
As the Jonas Brothers celebrate their 20th year as a band, 2025 simultaneously signifies 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… 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.”
Alongside the band’s experience over the last 20 years, he said he has had wonderful and challenging moments managing diabetes. The difficulties of managing his condition have been the lows, while raising awareness and engaging others through his role and through his non-profit have been a source of happiness.
“Overall, I’m really grateful to have been able to be transparent about [type 1] and to interact with all these amazing people from all regions 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 isolated in it,” said Jonas.
Nick Jonas’ A1C Shoutout to Fans
To thank his fans, on World Diabetes Day (November 14), he stepped onto the platform 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 average of numbers over a 90-day period, was the most favorable it’s ever been, actually, most recently,” he revealed.
The show was attended by members of a worldwide group — a collective of more than 30,000 people worldwide who discuss their experiences with diabetes to help promote a message of resilience, determination, and optimism.
“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 important 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 disease,” he said.
Jonas offered the song “A Little Bit Longer” — a tune he wrote early in his career and diabetes experience, 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 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 supported me in so many different moments. I think my outlook 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 daily shots a day and glucose checks 10 or more times daily. This was a constant cycle of needles, estimation, and care, according to a licensed endocrinologist.
“Delivery devices replaced multiple daily insulin injections. With time, insulin pumps became less bulky and more advanced, and eventually learned to ‘communicate’ with the sensors,” the expert explained.
“Automated systems began adjusting insulin on their own, creating combined ‘artificial pancreas’ systems that alleviate some of the mental burden people with type 1 bear every day.”
Jonas is amazed with how far technology has improved since he was first diagnosed.
“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 amazing thing,” he said.
Alongside technology, new therapies aimed at controlling the condition and delaying or modifying the disease itself are in development.
“The first immunotherapy capable of delaying type 1’s start 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 cultivating stem-cell–derived pancreatic beta cells and testing ways to protect them from the body's defenses,” said the specialist.
“Responsive insulin” is also being developed to activate only when glucose levels rises, 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 transforming the disease itself,” the expert concluded.
Nevertheless, while another medical professional agrees that additional innovations will continue to appear, he points out that managing type 1 diabetes remains an intensive task — in terms of health, cognitively, and psychologically.
“I sincerely hope that we’ll see more and more attention to talking about and helping with the burdens and the requirements of having and controlling T1D. We need far more of that, too,” he told.
Jonas Turns to Self-Care to Control His Diabetes
In addition to medication and technology, Jonas discussed some approaches 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 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 hard to do at times, he said he learned to practice this early during his diagnosis.
Recently, he has prioritized taking vitamins, looking after his skin, and staying well-hydrated.
“It’s a basic thing, but the more water I drink, my glucose levels are better. I don’t know precisely why, but I just find that hydrating has a lot of health advantages,” said Jonas. “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 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 indoors for hours at a concert hall or on a film set or something,” he said.
He relies on his therapist frequently, 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 climb this mountain, and there’s some incredible people out there whose stories will really motivate anybody that’s going through tough moments,” said Jonas.
