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

As the Jonas Brothers celebrate their 20th year as a band, 2025 also marks 20 years since their frontman's type 1 diabetes diagnosis.

“The alignment is remarkable,” 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 fortunate 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 20 years, he said he has had wonderful and challenging moments managing diabetes. The struggles of controlling his disease have been the lows, while advocating and engaging others as a spokesperson and through his non-profit have brought him joy.

“In summary, I’m really thankful 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 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.

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 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,” said Jonas.

The show was visited 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 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 personal to me and on World Diabetes Day, I think it’s natural to get reflective and to tap into kind of what life looks like for me as a now thirty-three-year-old person managing this disease,” he said.

Jonas offered the song “A Little Bit Longer” — a tune he wrote at the start of his career and diabetes journey, 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 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 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 different moments. I think my perspective is possibly a lot more positive now. It is possible to live a big, busy life while living with this disease and mindset and perspective and all that is an essential piece to powering through.”

Progress in Type 1 Diabetes

Not long ago, life with type 1 diabetes involved more than five daily shots a day and glucose checks 10 or more times each day. This was a never-ending cycle of injections, estimation, and vigilance, according to a board certified endocrinologist.

“Delivery devices superseded multiple daily insulin injections.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

“Automated systems began modifying insulin automatically, creating hybrid ‘automated delivery’ systems that alleviate 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 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 incredible thing,” he said.

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

“The first immune-therapy capable of postponing type 1’s onset was authorized, and research into preserving or even substituting the body’s insulin-producing cells acquired real momentum. In labs around the world, scientists are growing lab-grown pancreatic beta cells and testing ways to shield them from immune attack,” said the specialist.

“Smart insulin” is also being engineered to activate only when glucose levels rises, 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 nearer to transforming the disease itself,” the physician stated.

However, while a family physician agrees that additional innovations will continue to develop, he notes that managing type 1 diabetes remains an intensive task — physically, mentally, and psychologically.

“I sincerely hope that we’ll see more and more attention to talking about and addressing the burdens and the requirements of living with and managing T1D. We need far 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.

To begin, 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 super on top of your diabetes management, there are just things that are a little beyond your influence and being able to pause, reset, and know that it’s going to be OK on the other side is really crucial,” he said.

While this is difficult 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 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 benefits,” he noted. “I didn’t put as much emphasis 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, mental, and psychological 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 concert hall or on a film set or something,” he said.

He relies on his therapist regularly, too.

“I think it’s really important 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 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.