The Way The Singer's Management of Diabetes Has Evolved Over the Past 20 Years

This year, the number 20 holds particular meaning for renowned artist Nick Jonas.

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

“It’s crazy how it lined up,” the singer stated. “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.”

Alongside the band’s experience over the last two decades, he said he has had wonderful and challenging moments living with diabetes. The difficulties of managing his condition have been the lows, while advocating and connecting with others as a spokesperson and through his foundation have brought him joy.

“In summary, I’m really thankful to have been able to be open about [type 1] and to interact with all these wonderful people from all corners of the world who are navigating 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 His Audience

To thank his fans, 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, accompanied by a shout-out to his A1C.

“My A1C, which is a collection of numbers over a three-month period, was the most favorable it’s ever been, in fact, most recently,” he revealed.

The show was attended by members of a worldwide group — a collective of over 30,000 people globally who share their experiences with diabetes to help spread a message of resilience, 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 important to me and on World Diabetes Day, I think it’s fitting to get introspective and to explore kind of what life looks like for me as a now thirty-three-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 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 experiences when I was 14 and to see the effect it still has to this day with the fan base,” 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 outlook is possibly a lot more positive now. It is feasible to live a big, busy life while managing this disease and outlook and viewpoint and all that is an important 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 daily. This was a constant cycle of needles, estimation, and care, as stated by a licensed endocrinologist.

“Delivery devices replaced multiple daily insulin injections. With time, insulin pumps became less bulky and more advanced, and eventually learned to ‘talk’ with the glucose monitors,” the expert explained.

“Automated systems began modifying insulin on their own, creating hybrid ‘automated delivery’ systems that lift some of the mental burden people with type 1 bear every day.”

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

“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 amazing thing,” he said.

Alongside technology, new therapies aimed at controlling the condition and slowing or modifying the disease itself are being researched.

“The first immunotherapy capable of delaying type 1’s onset was approved, and research into preserving 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 shield them from the body's defenses,” the doctor continued.

“Smart 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.

“Further progress will absolutely continue to emerge. We’re no longer just enhancing devices; we’re getting closer to transforming the disease itself,” the expert concluded.

Nevertheless, while a family physician concurs that additional innovations will continue to develop, he points out that managing type 1 diabetes remains an demanding task — in terms of health, mentally, and emotionally.

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

The Singer Employs Self-Care to Control His Diabetes

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

First, he said he learned to be less hard on 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 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 focused on taking vitamins, caring for his skin, and staying hydrated.

“It’s a basic thing, but the more water I drink, my glucose levels are better. I don’t know exactly why, but I just find that hydrating has a lot of health benefits,” he noted. “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 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 indoors for hours at a concert hall or on a film set or something,” he said.

He leans on his therapist regularly, too.

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

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

“There will be positive days, there will be tough days, but you can scale this challenge, and there’s some remarkable people out there whose stories will really motivate anybody that’s going through difficult times,” said Jonas.