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

In 2025, the number 20 holds 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 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.”

Alongside the band’s experience over the last 20 years, he said he has had wonderful and challenging moments managing diabetes. The difficulties of controlling his disease have been the lows, while raising awareness and connecting with others as a spokesperson and through his foundation have been a source of happiness.

“In summary, I’m really grateful to have been able to be transparent about [type 1] and to connect with all these amazing people from all regions of the world who are navigating their own diabetes path, and it’s a really big thing to feel like you’re a little less alone in it,” said Jonas.

The Singer's A1C Announcement 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 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 worldwide group — a network of more than 30,000 people globally who discuss their experiences with diabetes to help promote a message of strength, perseverance, and optimism.

“It was really special for me to get to use the Jonas Brothers’ platform as a place to speak about something that’s obviously very personal 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 managing this disease,” he said.

Jonas offered the song “A Little Bit Longer” — a melody he wrote early in his career and diabetes journey, 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 effect 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 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 optimistic now. It is possible to live a big, busy life while managing this disease and mindset and perspective and all that is an important piece to persevering.”

Advancements in Type 1 Diabetes

In the past, life with type 1 diabetes meant more than five insulin injections a day and finger sticks 10 or more times each day. This was a constant cycle of injections, estimation, and care, as stated by a board certified endocrinologist.

“Delivery devices superseded multiple daily insulin injections. With time, insulin pumps became lighter and more advanced, and eventually learned to ‘talk’ with the glucose monitors,” the expert explained.

“Algorithms began adjusting insulin on their own, creating combined ‘artificial pancreas’ systems that lift some of the cognitive load people with type 1 carry every day.”

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

“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 incredible thing,” he said.

Alongside technology, new treatments aimed at managing diabetes and slowing or altering 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 traction. In labs around the world, scientists are growing lab-grown pancreatic beta cells and testing ways to protect them from the body's defenses,” said the specialist.

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

“Further progress will absolutely continue to emerge. We’re no longer just enhancing devices; we’re getting closer to changing the disease itself,” the expert concluded.

However, while a family physician concurs that additional innovations will continue to appear, he points out that managing type 1 diabetes remains an demanding undertaking — in terms of health, mentally, and psychologically.

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

The Singer Employs Personal Wellness to Manage His Diabetes

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

To begin, he said he learned to be less hard on 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 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 difficult to do at times, he said he learned to practice this early during his diagnosis.

Recently, he has focused on taking vitamins, caring for his skin, and staying hydrated.

“It’s a basic thing, but the more water I drink, my glucose levels are better. I don’t know exactly why, but I just find that drinking water has a lot of health advantages,” said Jonas. “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, mental, and emotional health.

“It really centers 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 important to do that self-work,” Jonas said.

Above 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 remarkable people out there whose experiences will really motivate anybody that’s going through difficult times,” said Jonas.