- Lead singer Nick Jonas has been living with type 1 diabetes for two decades.
- The group's “Anniversary Tour” marks its 20th anniversary concurrent with Nick Jonas’s 20-year journey with diabetes.
- Nick Jonas shares how these two anniversaries have impacted his life and how he leverages his music to raise awareness for type 1 diabetes.
In 2025, the number 20 carries special significance for renowned artist Nick Jonas.
While the band commemorates their 20th year together, 2025 simultaneously signifies 20 years since their lead singer's type 1 diabetes discovery.
“The alignment is remarkable,” Jonas remarked. “It’s been a wild journey in both… regarding the band, 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 wonderful and challenging moments living with diabetes. The difficulties of managing his condition have been the lows, while raising awareness and connecting with others through his role and through his non-profit have been a source of happiness.
“Overall, I’m really thankful to have been able to be transparent about [type 1] and to connect with all these wonderful people from all regions 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,” he added.
The Singer's A1C Announcement 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 inspiring message of hope, accompanied by a mention to his A1C.
“My A1C, which is a average of numbers over a 90-day period, was the best it’s ever been, in fact, most recently,” said Jonas.
The show was attended by members of a worldwide group — a network of over 30,000 people worldwide who discuss 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 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 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 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 audience,” he said.
While the song has taken on a new meaning for him as an adult, he said it is still relevant.
“Now I [have] this vast, supportive community that I belong to that has supported me in so many different moments. I think my perspective is perhaps a lot more positive now. It is possible to live a big, busy life while managing this disease and outlook and viewpoint and all that is an essential piece to powering through.”
Progress in Type 1 Diabetes
Not long ago, life with type 1 diabetes meant more than five daily shots a day and glucose checks 10 or more times each day. This was a never-ending cycle of injections, guesswork, and care, according to a board certified endocrinologist.
“Insulin pumps 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 doctor noted.
“Algorithms began adjusting insulin on their own, creating combined ‘automated delivery’ systems that lift some of the cognitive load people with type 1 carry every day.”
Jonas is amazed with how far technology has advanced since he was first identified.
“The fact that I can receive real time readings of my glucose directly on 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.
Alongside technology, new therapies aimed at controlling the condition and slowing or altering the disease itself are in development.
“The first immune-therapy capable of delaying type 1’s onset was authorized, and research into protecting or even replacing the body’s insulin-producing cells gained real momentum. In labs around the world, scientists are growing stem-cell–derived pancreatic beta cells and experimenting with ways to shield them from the body's defenses,” said the specialist.
“Responsive insulin” is also being engineered to become active only when blood sugar increase, offering a future where insulin works as naturally as the body once did.
“Further progress will definitely continue to develop. We’re no longer just improving tools; we’re getting nearer to changing the disease itself,” the expert concluded.
Nevertheless, while another medical professional concurs that additional innovations will continue to develop, he notes that managing type 1 diabetes remains an demanding undertaking — in terms of health, cognitively, and emotionally.
“I truly hope that we’ll see more and more focus to discussing and addressing the burdens and the requirements of having and controlling T1D. We need much more of that, too,” he commented.
Jonas Turns to Personal Wellness to Manage His Diabetes
In addition to medication and technology, Jonas discussed some strategies he leans on to manage his diabetes.
To begin, he said he learned to be less hard on 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, 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 soon after 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 more stable. I don’t know exactly why, but I just find that drinking water has a lot of health advantages,” said Jonas. “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 physical, mental, and psychological health.
“It really grounds 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 movie location or something,” he said.
He leans on his therapist frequently, too.
“I think it’s really important to do that self-work,” Jonas said.
Above all, he encourages everyone living with 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 mountain, and there’s some remarkable people out there whose stories will really motivate anybody that’s going through difficult times,” said Jonas.
