- Lead singer 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 shares how these two anniversaries have influenced his life and how he uses his music to promote understanding for type 1 diabetes.
This year, the number 20 carries particular meaning for iconic singer Nick Jonas.
While the band commemorates their 20th year as a band, 2025 also marks 20 years since their frontman's type 1 diabetes discovery.
“It’s crazy how it lined up,” the singer stated. “It's been an incredible ride in both… in the Brothers sense, it’s been the ride 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 most amazing fans.”
Parallel to the band’s experience over the last two decades, he said he has had great and tough moments living with 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 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 regions 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,” he added.
Nick Jonas’ A1C Shoutout to His Audience
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, along with a mention to his A1C.
“My A1C, which is a collection of numbers over a 90-day period, was the most favorable it’s ever been, in fact, most recently,” he revealed.
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 optimism.
“It was really special for me to get to use the Jonas Brothers’ stage as a place to speak about something that’s obviously very personal to me and on World Diabetes Day, I think it’s fitting to get reflective and to explore kind of what life looks like for me as a now thirty-three-year-old person living with this disease,” he said.
Jonas offered the song “A Little Bit Longer” — a melody he wrote at the start of his career and diabetes journey, to those living with 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 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 taken on 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 various moments. I think my outlook is possibly a lot more optimistic now. It is possible to live a big, busy life while living with this disease and outlook and viewpoint and all that is an important piece to persevering.”
Progress in Type 1 Diabetes
Not long ago, life with type 1 diabetes involved more than five daily shots a day and finger sticks 10 or more times daily. This was a never-ending cycle of injections, estimation, and care, according to a board certified endocrinologist.
“Insulin pumps replaced multiple daily insulin injections. With time, insulin pumps became less bulky and smarter, and eventually learned to ‘talk’ with the glucose monitors,” the doctor noted.
“Automated systems began modifying insulin automatically, creating combined ‘artificial pancreas’ systems that lift some of the mental burden people with type 1 carry every day.”
Jonas is amazed with how far technology has improved since he was first identified.
“The fact that I can receive real time readings 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 incredible thing,” he said.
In addition to technology, new treatments aimed at controlling the condition and delaying or modifying the disease itself are being researched.
“The first immunotherapy capable of postponing type 1’s onset was approved, and research into preserving or even replacing the body’s insulin-producing cells gained real momentum. In labs around the world, scientists are cultivating lab-grown pancreatic beta cells and testing ways to shield them from immune attack,” said the specialist.
“Smart insulin” is also being engineered to become active only when blood sugar increase, promising 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 physician stated.
However, while another medical professional agrees that further advancements will continue to develop, he points out 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 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 Self-Care to Manage His Diabetes
In addition to 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 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 early during his diagnosis.
Recently, he has prioritized taking vitamins, caring for his skin, and staying hydrated.
“It’s a basic thing, but the more water I drink, my glucose levels are more stable. I don’t know exactly why, but I just find that drinking water has a lot of health benefits,” he noted. “I didn’t put as much emphasis 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, mental, 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 venue or on a movie location or something,” he said.
He leans on his therapist regularly, too.
“I think it’s really vital to do that self-work,” Jonas said.
Most of all, he urges everyone managing type 1 diabetes to take part in the diabetes community.
“There will be positive days, there will be tough days, but you can climb this mountain, and there’s some remarkable people out there whose experiences will really motivate anybody that’s going through tough moments,” said Jonas.
