How The Singer's Diabetes Management Has Evolved During Two Decades

In 2025, the number 20 holds particular meaning for renowned artist Nick Jonas.

While the band commemorates their 20th year as a band, 2025 simultaneously signifies 20 years since their lead singer's type 1 diabetes discovery.

“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 blessed 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 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 transparent about [type 1] and to connect with all these amazing people from all corners of the world who are experiencing their own diabetes path, and it’s a really big thing to feel like you’re a little less isolated in it,” said Jonas.

The Singer's A1C Announcement to Fans

To show appreciation to supporters, on World Diabetes Day (November 14), he took to the stage during a Jonas Brothers concert and delighted his audience by sharing an inspiring 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, actually, most recently,” he revealed.

The show was attended by members of a worldwide group — a collective of more than 30,000 people globally who share their experiences with diabetes to help promote a message of strength, 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 personal to me and on World Diabetes Day, I think it’s fitting to get introspective 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 experience, to those affected by the disease.

“It’s a really important 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 am part of that has lifted me up in so many different moments. I think my perspective is perhaps a lot more optimistic now. It is feasible to live a big, busy life while living with this disease and mindset and perspective and all that is an essential piece to persevering.”

Progress in Type 1 Diabetes

Not long ago, life with type 1 diabetes meant more than five insulin injections a day and finger sticks 10 or more times each day. This was a constant cycle of injections, estimation, and vigilance, as stated by a licensed endocrinologist.

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

“Automated systems began modifying insulin on their own, creating hybrid ‘artificial pancreas’ systems that alleviate some of the mental burden people with type 1 carry every day.”

Jonas is amazed with how far technology has advanced since he was first diagnosed.

“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 when I am apart from is just an amazing thing,” he said.

Alongside technology, new treatments aimed at managing diabetes and delaying or modifying the disease itself are being researched.

“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 cultivating lab-grown pancreatic beta cells and testing ways to protect them from the body's defenses,” said the specialist.

“Smart insulin” is also being engineered to become active only when blood sugar rises, promising a future where insulin works as naturally 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.

However, while another medical professional agrees that additional innovations will continue to develop, he notes that managing type 1 diabetes remains an intensive task — in terms of health, cognitively, and psychologically.

“I truly hope that we’ll see more and more focus to talking about and helping with the challenges and the demands of having and managing T1D. We need far more of that, too,” he commented.

Jonas Turns to Personal Wellness to Control His Diabetes

Beyond medication and technology, Jonas discussed some strategies 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 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 difficult to do at times, he said he learned to practice this early during 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 more stable. I don’t know precisely why, but I just find that drinking water has a lot of health benefits,” said Jonas. “I didn’t put as much emphasis on it earlier in my life as I do now, and it’s been really helpful.”

He also walks daily for 30 minutes or longer for his bodily, mental, 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 movie location or something,” he said.

He relies on his therapist frequently, too.

“I think it’s really important to do that self-work,” Jonas said.

Most of all, he urges everyone living with type 1 diabetes to engage with the diabetes community.

“There will be good days, there will be tough days, but you can scale this challenge, and there’s some remarkable people out there whose experiences will really inspire anybody that’s going through difficult times,” he concluded.