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This year, the number 20 carries special significance for renowned artist Nick Jonas.

As the Jonas Brothers celebrate their 20th year as a band, 2025 simultaneously signifies 20 years since their frontman's type 1 diabetes discovery.

“The alignment is remarkable,” the singer stated. “It’s been a wild journey in both… in the Brothers sense, it’s been the adventure 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.”

Alongside the band’s experience over the last 20 years, 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 through his role and through his non-profit have brought him joy.

“Overall, I’m really thankful 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 path, and it’s a really significant feeling to feel like you’re a little less isolated in it,” he added.

Nick Jonas’ A1C Shoutout to His Audience

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 mention 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,” said Jonas.

The show was attended by members of a worldwide group — a network of more than 30,000 people globally who share their experiences with diabetes to help spread a message of resilience, perseverance, and positivity.

“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 important to me and on World Diabetes Day, I think it’s natural to get introspective and to explore kind of what life looks like for me as a now 33-year-old person managing this disease,” he said.

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

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

“Now I [have] this great, big community that I belong to 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 outlook and perspective and all that is an important piece to powering through.”

Advancements in Diabetes Management

In the past, 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 constant cycle of needles, guesswork, and vigilance, as stated by a licensed endocrinologist.

“Insulin pumps replaced multiple daily insulin injections. With time, insulin pumps became lighter and smarter, and eventually learned to ‘communicate’ with the sensors,” the doctor noted.

“Automated systems began modifying insulin on their own, creating hybrid ‘artificial pancreas’ systems that lift some of the mental burden people with type 1 bear every day.”

Jonas is amazed with how far technology has improved since he was first diagnosed.

“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 who I’m traveling away from is just an amazing thing,” he said.

In addition to technology, new treatments aimed at managing diabetes and delaying or modifying the disease itself are in development.

“The first immune-therapy capable of postponing type 1’s onset was authorized, and research into protecting or even replacing the body’s insulin-producing cells acquired real momentum. In labs around the world, scientists are growing stem-cell–derived pancreatic beta cells and testing ways to shield them from immune attack,” the doctor continued.

“Responsive insulin” is also being engineered to become active only when glucose levels increase, promising a future where insulin works as intuitively as the body once did.

“Further progress will definitely continue to emerge. We’re no longer just improving tools; we’re getting nearer to transforming the disease itself,” the expert concluded.

However, while a family physician agrees that further advancements will continue to develop, he points out that managing type 1 diabetes remains an intensive task — in terms of health, cognitively, and psychologically.

“I truly hope that we’ll see more and more focus to talking about and helping with the challenges and the requirements of having and managing T1D. We need far more of that, too,” he told.

The Singer Employs Self-Care to Control His Diabetes

In addition to medication and technology, Jonas discussed some approaches he relies on to handle his diabetes.

First, he said he learned to take pressure off himself.

“You’re never going to have the ideal day living with 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 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.

Lately, he has prioritized taking vitamins, caring for 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 exactly why, but I just find that hydrating has a lot of health advantages,” 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 bodily, mental, and psychological health.

“It really centers 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 venue 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 personal development,” Jonas said.

Above all, he encourages everyone managing 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,” he concluded.