- Lead singer Nick Jonas has been living with type 1 diabetes for 20 years.
- The band's “Anniversary Tour” marks its 20th anniversary alongside Nick Jonas’s 20-year journey with diabetes.
- Nick Jonas shares how both milestones have impacted his life and how he leverages his music to promote understanding for type 1 diabetes.
In 2025, the number 20 holds special significance for renowned artist Nick Jonas.
While the band commemorates their 20th year together, 2025 also marks 20 years since their frontman's type 1 diabetes diagnosis.
“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 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 difficulties of controlling his disease have been the low points, while advocating and engaging others as a spokesperson and through his foundation have been a source of happiness.
“In summary, I’m really thankful to have been able to be open about [type 1] and to connect with all these wonderful 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 alone in it,” said Jonas.
Nick Jonas’ A1C Shoutout to Fans
To show appreciation to supporters, on World Diabetes Day (November 14), he stepped onto the platform during a Jonas Brothers concert and surprised 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 best it’s ever been, actually, 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 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 obviously very important to me and on World Diabetes Day, I think it’s fitting to get reflective and to tap into sort of what life looks like for me as a now thirty-three-year-old person managing this condition,” 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 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 effect 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 supported me in so many different moments. I think my outlook is perhaps 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 powering through.”
Progress in Diabetes Management
In the past, 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 more advanced, and eventually learned to ‘communicate’ with the glucose monitors,” the expert explained.
“Automated systems began modifying insulin automatically, creating hybrid ‘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 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 when I am apart from is just an incredible thing,” he said.
Alongside technology, new therapies aimed at controlling the condition and delaying or modifying the disease itself are in development.
“The first immunotherapy capable of postponing type 1’s onset was approved, and research into protecting or even substituting the body’s insulin-producing cells acquired real momentum. In labs around the world, scientists are cultivating lab-grown pancreatic beta cells and experimenting with ways to shield them from immune attack,” the doctor continued.
“Smart insulin” is also being engineered to become active only when blood sugar rises, promising a future where insulin works as intuitively as the body once did.
“Further progress will absolutely continue to emerge. We’re no longer just improving tools; we’re getting nearer to changing the disease itself,” the expert concluded.
Nevertheless, while a family physician concurs that further advancements will continue to develop, he notes that managing type 1 diabetes remains an intensive task — physically, cognitively, and psychologically.
“I sincerely hope that we’ll see more and more focus to discussing and helping with the burdens and the demands of having and managing T1D. We need much more of that, too,” he commented.
The Singer Employs Personal Wellness to Control His Diabetes
Beyond medication and technology, Jonas discussed some approaches he leans on to manage his diabetes.
First, he said he learned to take pressure off himself.
“You’re never going to have the perfect day living with 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, 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 soon after his diagnosis.
Recently, he has focused on taking vitamins, looking after his skin, and staying well-hydrated.
“It’s a simple 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,” 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 takes walks daily for 30 minutes or longer for his bodily, mental, 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 relies on his therapist frequently, too.
“I think it’s really vital to do that personal development,” Jonas said.
Above all, he urges everyone living with type 1 diabetes to take part in the diabetes community.
“There will be positive days, there will be challenging days, but you can climb this challenge, and there’s some remarkable people out there whose experiences will really inspire anybody that’s going through difficult times,” he concluded.
