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In 2025, the number 20 carries special significance for iconic singer Nick Jonas.

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

“It’s crazy how it lined up,” the singer stated. “It’s been a wild journey in both… regarding the band, 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 world’s greatest 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 raising awareness and connecting with others as a spokesperson and through his non-profit have brought him joy.

“Overall, I’m really grateful to have been able to be open 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 big thing to feel like you’re a little less alone in it,” he added.

The Singer's A1C Announcement to His Audience

To thank his fans, on World Diabetes Day (November 14), he took to the stage during a Jonas Brothers concert and delighted his audience by sharing an uplifting 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, actually, 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 promote a message of strength, perseverance, and optimism.

“It was really special for me to get to use the Jonas Brothers’ platform 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 reflective and to explore sort of what life looks like for me as a now thirty-three-year-old person managing this condition,” he said.

Jonas dedicated the song “A Little Bit Longer” — a melody he wrote early in his career and diabetes experience, to those living with 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 impact it still has to this day with the audience,” he said.

While the song has assumed a new significance for him as an adult, he said it is still pertinent.

“Now I [have] this vast, supportive community that I am part of that has supported me in so many different moments. I think my perspective is perhaps a lot more optimistic now. It is possible to live a full, active life while living with this disease and mindset and viewpoint and all that is an important piece to persevering.”

Advancements in Type 1 Diabetes

Not long ago, life with type 1 diabetes meant more than five insulin injections a day and glucose checks 10 or more times each day. This was a constant cycle of needles, 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 sensors,” the expert explained.

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

Alongside technology, new treatments aimed at controlling the condition and delaying or modifying the disease itself are in development.

“The first immune-therapy capable of delaying type 1’s onset was approved, and research into preserving or even replacing the body’s insulin-producing cells acquired real momentum. In labs around the world, scientists are cultivating stem-cell–derived pancreatic beta cells and experimenting with 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 increase, 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 further advancements will continue to appear, he points out that managing type 1 diabetes remains an intensive task — physically, mentally, and emotionally.

“I truly hope that we’ll see more and more attention to discussing and helping with the challenges and the requirements of having and controlling 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 approaches he relies on to handle his diabetes.

To begin, he said he learned to be less hard on 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 out of your control and being able to pause, recalibrate, 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.

Lately, he has focused on 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 more stable. I don’t know exactly why, but I just find that drinking water has a lot of health advantages,” 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 takes walks daily for 30 minutes or longer for his physical, 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 inside for hours at a concert hall or on a movie location or something,” he said.

He leans on his therapist regularly, too.

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

Most of all, he encourages 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 climb this mountain, and there’s some remarkable people out there whose experiences will really inspire anybody that’s going through difficult times,” said Jonas.