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

While the band commemorates 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… regarding the band, 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.”

Parallel to the band’s experience over the last two decades, he said he has had great and tough moments managing diabetes. The struggles of controlling his disease have been the low points, while advocating and engaging others as a spokesperson and through his foundation have been a source of happiness.

“Overall, I’m really grateful to have been able to be transparent about [type 1] and to connect with all these wonderful people from all corners 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 alone in it,” he added.

The Singer's A1C Announcement to His Audience

To thank his fans, 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 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, in fact, most recently,” said Jonas.

The show was attended by members of a global community — a collective of over 30,000 people globally who discuss their experiences with diabetes to help promote a message of strength, 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 obviously 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 thirty-three-year-old person managing this disease,” 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 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 challenges 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 lifted me up in so many different moments. I think my perspective is perhaps a lot more optimistic now. It is possible to live a big, busy life while managing this disease and outlook and perspective and all that is an important piece to powering through.”

Progress in Diabetes Management

Not long ago, life with type 1 diabetes meant more than five daily shots a day and finger sticks 10 or more times daily. This was a constant cycle of needles, guesswork, and vigilance, according to a licensed endocrinologist.

“Insulin pumps superseded multiple daily insulin injections. With time, insulin pumps became less bulky and smarter, and eventually learned to ‘talk’ with the sensors,” the expert explained.

“Automated systems began modifying insulin automatically, creating combined ‘artificial pancreas’ systems that alleviate some of the cognitive load people with type 1 carry every day.”

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

“The fact that I can receive real time readings of my glucose directly on 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.

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

“The first immune-therapy capable of delaying type 1’s onset was authorized, and research into preserving or even replacing the body’s insulin-producing cells acquired real traction. In labs around the world, scientists are cultivating lab-grown pancreatic beta cells and testing ways to protect them from immune attack,” the doctor continued.

“Smart insulin” is also being engineered 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 improving tools; we’re getting closer to transforming the disease itself,” the physician stated.

Nevertheless, while a family physician agrees that further advancements will continue to appear, he notes that managing type 1 diabetes remains an intensive undertaking — physically, cognitively, and psychologically.

“I sincerely hope that we’ll see more and more focus to discussing and addressing the burdens and the demands of having and managing T1D. We need far more of that, too,” he commented.

Jonas Turns to Self-Care to Manage His Diabetes

Beyond medication and technology, Jonas shared 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 ideal day while managing 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 crucial,” he said.

While this is hard to do at times, he said he learned to practice this early during his diagnosis.

Recently, 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 drinking water has a lot of health benefits,” said Jonas. “I didn’t put as much focus on it earlier in my life as I do now, and it’s been really helpful.”

He also walks daily for 30 minutes or longer for his bodily, mental, 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 indoors for hours at a concert hall or on a movie location or something,” he said.

He relies on his therapist regularly, too.

“I think it’s really vital to do that self-work,” Jonas said.

Most of all, he urges everyone managing type 1 diabetes to take part in the diabetes community.

“There will be good days, there will be challenging days, but you can scale this mountain, and there’s some incredible people out there whose experiences will really inspire anybody that’s going through tough moments,” said Jonas.