How Nick Jonas' Diabetes Management Has Evolved During Two Decades

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 frontman's type 1 diabetes diagnosis.

“The alignment is remarkable,” the singer stated. “It’s been a wild journey in both… regarding the band, 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 struggles of controlling his disease have been the lows, while advocating and engaging others as a spokesperson 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 navigating their own diabetes path, and it’s a really big thing to feel like you’re a little less isolated in it,” said Jonas.

Nick Jonas’ A1C Shoutout to His Audience

To thank his fans, on World Diabetes Day (November 14), he took to the stage 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 three-month period, was the best it’s ever been, in fact, most recently,” he revealed.

The show was attended by members of a global community — a network of over 30,000 people globally who discuss their experiences with diabetes to help promote a message of strength, determination, 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 fitting to get introspective 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 dedicated the song “A Little Bit Longer” — a tune he wrote early in his career and diabetes journey, to those affected by 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 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 vast, supportive community that I am part of that has lifted me up in so many various moments. I think my outlook is possibly a lot more positive now. It is feasible to live a full, active life while managing this disease and mindset and perspective and all that is an essential piece to powering through.”

Progress in Type 1 Diabetes

Not long ago, 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 never-ending cycle of needles, estimation, and vigilance, 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 ‘communicate’ with the sensors,” the doctor noted.

“Algorithms began adjusting insulin on their own, creating hybrid ‘artificial pancreas’ systems that lift some of the mental burden people with type 1 carry 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 when I am apart from is just an amazing thing,” he said.

In addition to technology, new treatments aimed at managing diabetes and delaying or modifying the disease itself are being researched.

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

“Smart insulin” is also being developed to activate only when blood sugar rises, promising a future where insulin works as naturally as the body once did.

“More advancements will absolutely continue to emerge. We’re no longer just enhancing devices; we’re getting closer to changing the disease itself,” the physician stated.

However, while another medical professional concurs that further advancements will continue to develop, he points out that managing type 1 diabetes remains an demanding undertaking — in terms of health, cognitively, and emotionally.

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

The Singer Employs Self-Care to Control His Diabetes

Beyond 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 living with 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, reset, and know that it’s going to be OK on the other side is really important,” 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, 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 advantages,” said Jonas. “I didn’t put as much emphasis 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, cognitive, and emotional 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 indoors for hours at a concert hall or on a movie location or something,” he said.

He leans on his therapist regularly, too.

“I think it’s really vital to do that personal development,” Jonas said.

Most of 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 mountain, and there’s some incredible people out there whose stories will really motivate anybody that’s going through tough moments,” said Jonas.