- Frontman Nick Jonas has managed type 1 diabetes for 20 years.
- The group's “Anniversary Tour” marks its 20th anniversary alongside Nick Jonas’s two-decade experience with diabetes.
- Nick Jonas shares how these two anniversaries have impacted his life and how he leverages his music to promote understanding for type 1 diabetes.
This year, the number 20 holds special significance for renowned artist Nick Jonas.
While the band commemorates 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… 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 most amazing fans.”
Alongside the band’s experience over the last two decades, he said he has had wonderful and challenging moments living with diabetes. The difficulties of controlling his disease have been the lows, while raising awareness 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 transparent about [type 1] and to connect with all these wonderful people from all regions of the world who are experiencing their own diabetes journey, 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 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, 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 collective of over 30,000 people globally who share their experiences with diabetes to help promote a message of resilience, perseverance, and optimism.
“It was really meaningful for me to get to use the Jonas Brothers’ stage as a place to speak about something that’s obviously very personal to me and on World Diabetes Day, I think it’s natural to get introspective and to explore sort of what life looks like for me as a now thirty-three-year-old person living with this condition,” 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 important 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 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 full, active life while managing this disease and outlook and perspective and all that is an important piece to persevering.”
Advancements in Diabetes Management
In the past, life with type 1 diabetes meant more than five daily shots a day and glucose checks 10 or more times daily. This was a constant cycle of needles, guesswork, and vigilance, according to a licensed endocrinologist.
“Insulin pumps replaced multiple daily insulin injections. With time, insulin pumps became lighter and smarter, and eventually learned to ‘talk’ with the glucose monitors,” the doctor noted.
“Algorithms began modifying insulin on their own, creating hybrid ‘automated delivery’ systems that alleviate some of the cognitive load people with type 1 bear every day.”
Jonas is impressed 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 who I’m traveling away from is just an amazing thing,” he said.
In addition to technology, new therapies aimed at controlling the condition and delaying or altering the disease itself are being researched.
“The first immunotherapy capable of postponing type 1’s onset was approved, and research into preserving 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 testing ways to protect them from the body's defenses,” the doctor continued.
“Responsive insulin” is also being engineered to become active only when blood sugar rises, promising 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 closer to changing the disease itself,” the physician stated.
Nevertheless, while another medical professional concurs that additional innovations will continue to develop, he points out that managing type 1 diabetes remains an demanding task — in terms of health, mentally, and emotionally.
“I truly hope that we’ll see more and more focus to talking about and addressing the burdens and the requirements of having and managing T1D. We need much more of that, too,” he told.
Jonas Turns to Personal Wellness to Control His Diabetes
In addition to medication and technology, Jonas discussed some strategies he leans on to handle his diabetes.
First, 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 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 early during his diagnosis.
Lately, he has prioritized taking vitamins, caring for 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 hydrating has a lot of health benefits,” 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, 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 movie location 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 take part in 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.
