How Nick Jonas' Management of Diabetes Has Transformed During the Past 20 Years

This year, the number 20 holds 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 discovery.

“It’s crazy how it lined up,” the singer stated. “It's been an incredible ride 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.”

Parallel to the band’s experience over the last 20 years, he said he has had great and tough moments managing diabetes. The difficulties of managing his condition have been the lows, while advocating and connecting with others through his role 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 journey, and it’s a really big thing to feel like you’re a little less isolated in it,” said Jonas.

The Singer's A1C Announcement to Fans

To show appreciation to supporters, on World Diabetes Day (November 14), he took to the stage during a Jonas Brothers concert and delighted 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 90-day period, was the best it’s ever been, in fact, most recently,” he revealed.

The show was visited by members of a global community — a collective of more than 30,000 people globally who share their experiences with diabetes to help spread a message of strength, perseverance, and positivity.

“It was really special for me to get to use the Jonas Brothers’ platform as a place to speak about something that’s clearly very important to me and on World Diabetes Day, I think it’s fitting to get reflective and to tap into 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 tune he wrote at the start of 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 assumed a new significance for him as an adult, he said it is still pertinent.

“Now I [have] this vast, supportive community that I belong to that has lifted me up in so many different moments. I think my outlook is possibly 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 essential piece to powering through.”

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 never-ending cycle of injections, guesswork, and care, according to a licensed endocrinologist.

“Delivery devices superseded 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 automatically, creating hybrid ‘automated delivery’ systems that alleviate some of the mental burden people with type 1 bear every day.”

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

“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 slowing or altering the disease itself are in development.

“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 cultivating lab-grown pancreatic beta cells and experimenting with ways to shield them from the body's defenses,” the doctor continued.

“Smart 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 enhancing devices; we’re getting nearer to transforming the disease itself,” the physician stated.

However, while a family physician concurs that further advancements will continue to develop, he notes that managing type 1 diabetes remains an demanding undertaking — physically, cognitively, and psychologically.

“I truly hope that we’ll see more and more attention to talking about and addressing the challenges and the demands of having and controlling T1D. We need much more of that, too,” he commented.

Jonas Turns to Self-Care to Control His Diabetes

In addition to medication and technology, Jonas discussed 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 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 pause, 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 focused on taking vitamins, looking after his skin, and staying hydrated.

“It’s a simple thing, but the more water I drink, my glucose levels are more stable. I don’t know exactly why, but I just find that hydrating 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 walks daily for 30 minutes or longer for his bodily, cognitive, 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 inside 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 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 incredible people out there whose experiences will really motivate anybody that’s going through tough moments,” he concluded.