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This year, the number 20 carries special significance for iconic singer Nick Jonas.

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

“The alignment is remarkable,” 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 fortunate to be able to do this for 20 years now and to have the support of the most amazing fans.”

Alongside the band’s experience over the last 20 years, he said he has had great and tough moments living with diabetes. The struggles of controlling his disease have been the lows, while advocating and engaging others as a spokesperson and through his non-profit have been a source of happiness.

“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 regions of the world who are experiencing their own diabetes path, and it’s a really significant feeling to feel like you’re a little less alone in it,” he added.

The Singer's A1C Announcement 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 inspiring message of hope, along with a mention to his A1C.

“My A1C, which is a collection of numbers over a 90-day period, was the best it’s ever been, in fact, most recently,” said Jonas.

The show was visited 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, determination, 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 personal to me and on World Diabetes Day, I think it’s natural to get reflective and to explore kind of what life looks like for me as a now 33-year-old person managing this condition,” he said.

Jonas dedicated the song “A Little Bit Longer” — a tune he wrote early in his career and diabetes experience, to those living with the disease.

“It’s a really important 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 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 various moments. I think my outlook is perhaps a lot more optimistic now. It is feasible to live a full, active life while living with this disease and mindset 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 finger sticks 10 or more times each day. This was a never-ending cycle of needles, guesswork, and vigilance, according to a licensed endocrinologist.

“Delivery devices superseded multiple daily insulin injections. With time, insulin pumps became less bulky and more advanced, and eventually learned to ‘talk’ with the sensors,” the doctor noted.

“Automated systems began adjusting insulin automatically, creating combined ‘automated delivery’ systems that lift some of the cognitive load people with type 1 bear every day.”

Jonas is amazed with how far technology has improved 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.

Alongside technology, new therapies aimed at managing diabetes and slowing or modifying the disease itself are being researched.

“The first immunotherapy capable of delaying type 1’s start was approved, and research into preserving or even substituting 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 protect them from the body's defenses,” said the specialist.

“Responsive insulin” is also being developed to activate 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 enhancing devices; we’re getting nearer to transforming the disease itself,” the expert concluded.

Nevertheless, while another medical professional concurs that additional innovations will continue to appear, he points out that managing type 1 diabetes remains an demanding task — physically, mentally, and psychologically.

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

Jonas Turns to Self-Care to Control His Diabetes

Beyond medication and technology, Jonas shared some strategies he relies on to manage 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 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 important,” he said.

While this is hard to do at times, he said he learned to apply this soon after his diagnosis.

Lately, he has focused on taking vitamins, looking after his skin, and staying hydrated.

“It’s a basic thing, but the more water I drink, my glucose levels are more stable. I don’t know precisely why, but I just find that drinking water has a lot of health benefits,” 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 bodily, 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 venue or on a film set or something,” he said.

He leans on his therapist regularly, 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 engage with the diabetes community.

“There will be good days, there will be tough 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,” said Jonas.