- Frontman Nick Jonas has managed type 1 diabetes for two decades.
- The group's “Anniversary Tour” celebrates its 20th anniversary alongside Nick Jonas’s 20-year journey with diabetes.
- Nick Jonas shares how these two anniversaries have impacted his life and how he uses his music to promote understanding for type 1 diabetes.
In 2025, the number 20 holds special significance for renowned artist Nick Jonas.
As the Jonas Brothers celebrate their 20th year as a band, 2025 also marks 20 years since their lead singer's type 1 diabetes diagnosis.
“It’s crazy how it lined up,” Jonas remarked. “It’s been a wild journey 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.”
Alongside the band’s experience over the last 20 years, he said he has had wonderful and challenging moments managing diabetes. The difficulties of controlling his disease have been the lows, while advocating and connecting with others through his role and through his non-profit have brought him joy.
“Overall, I’m really thankful to have been able to be transparent about [type 1] and to interact with all these amazing 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 isolated in it,” said Jonas.
Nick Jonas’ A1C Shoutout to Fans
To show appreciation to supporters, on World Diabetes Day (November 14), he took to the stage during a Jonas Brothers concert and surprised his audience by sharing an inspiring 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 best it’s ever been, actually, most recently,” he revealed.
The show was attended by members of a global community — a network of more than 30,000 people globally who discuss their experiences with diabetes to help promote a message of resilience, perseverance, 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 natural to get introspective and to tap into kind of what life looks like for me as a now 33-year-old person managing this disease,” he said.
Jonas dedicated the song “A Little Bit Longer” — a melody he wrote at the start of 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 experiences when I was 14 and to see the impact 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 positive now. It is feasible to live a full, active life while living with this disease and outlook and viewpoint and all that is an essential piece to persevering.”
Progress in Diabetes Management
Not long ago, life with type 1 diabetes involved more than five daily shots a day and finger sticks 10 or more times each day. This was a never-ending cycle of needles, estimation, and care, as stated by a licensed 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 modifying insulin automatically, creating hybrid ‘artificial pancreas’ systems that alleviate 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 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 treatments aimed at managing diabetes and delaying or modifying the disease itself are being researched.
“The first immunotherapy capable of postponing type 1’s onset was authorized, and research into protecting or even replacing the body’s insulin-producing cells gained real traction. In labs around the world, scientists are cultivating stem-cell–derived pancreatic beta cells and testing ways to shield them from immune attack,” said the specialist.
“Responsive insulin” is also being developed to activate only when glucose levels increase, promising a future where insulin works as intuitively 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 agrees that further advancements will continue to appear, he notes that managing type 1 diabetes remains an intensive task — in terms of health, mentally, and psychologically.
“I truly hope that we’ll see more and more attention to discussing and helping with the burdens and the demands of living with and controlling T1D. We need much more of that, too,” he commented.
Jonas Turns to Self-Care to Manage His Diabetes
In addition to medication and technology, Jonas shared some strategies he leans on to handle his diabetes.
To begin, he said he learned to take pressure off 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 beyond your influence and being able to take a deep breath, recalibrate, and know that it’s going to be OK on the other side is really crucial,” he said.
While this is hard to do at times, he said he learned to practice this soon after his diagnosis.
Recently, he has prioritized taking vitamins, looking after his skin, and staying 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 when I was younger as I do now, and it’s been really beneficial.”
He also 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 open air is really important when a lot of my day, too, is spent inside for hours at a venue or on a film set or something,” he said.
He leans on his therapist frequently, too.
“I think it’s really vital 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 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 tough moments,” said Jonas.
