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

In 2025, the number 20 holds special significance for renowned artist Nick Jonas.

As the Jonas Brothers celebrate their 20th year as a band, 2025 simultaneously signifies 20 years since their lead singer's type 1 diabetes diagnosis.

“It’s crazy how it lined up,” Jonas remarked. “It's been an incredible ride in both… in the Brothers sense, 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 world’s greatest 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 managing his condition have been the low points, while advocating and engaging others as a spokesperson and through his foundation have brought him joy.

“In summary, I’m really thankful 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 journey, and it’s a really significant feeling to feel like you’re a little less isolated in it,” said Jonas.

Nick Jonas’ A1C Shoutout to Fans

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 inspiring 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 most favorable it’s ever been, actually, most recently,” said Jonas.

The show was attended by members of a global community — a collective of over 30,000 people globally who share their experiences with diabetes to help promote a message of resilience, 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 obviously very important to me and on World Diabetes Day, I think it’s fitting to get reflective and to tap into kind 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 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 impact it still has to this day with the audience,” he said.

While the song has assumed a new meaning for him as an adult, he said it is still relevant.

“Now I [have] this great, big community that I belong to that has supported me in so many various moments. I think my perspective is perhaps a lot more positive now. It is feasible to live a full, active life while managing this disease and outlook and perspective and all that is an essential piece to persevering.”

Progress in Type 1 Diabetes

In the past, life with type 1 diabetes involved more than five daily shots a day and glucose checks 10 or more times daily. This was a never-ending cycle of needles, estimation, and care, as stated by a licensed endocrinologist.

“Insulin pumps replaced multiple daily insulin injections. With time, insulin pumps became lighter and more advanced, and eventually learned to ‘communicate’ with the sensors,” the expert explained.

“Automated systems began adjusting insulin automatically, creating combined ‘automated delivery’ systems that lift some of the mental burden people with type 1 carry every day.”

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

“The fact that I can receive instant data of my glucose directly on 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 incredible thing,” he said.

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

“The first immune-therapy capable of postponing type 1’s start was approved, and research into preserving or even substituting the body’s insulin-producing cells acquired real traction. In labs around the world, scientists are growing stem-cell–derived pancreatic beta cells and testing ways to shield them from immune attack,” said the specialist.

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

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

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

“I sincerely hope that we’ll see more and more attention to discussing and helping with the challenges and the requirements of having and controlling T1D. We need far more of that, too,” he told.

The Singer Employs Self-Care to Control His Diabetes

In addition to medication and technology, Jonas shared some strategies he leans on to manage 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 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, looking after his skin, and staying well-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,” said Jonas. “I didn’t put as much focus on it earlier in my life 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 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 venue or on a film set or something,” he said.

He leans on his therapist frequently, too.

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

Above all, he encourages everyone managing type 1 diabetes to engage with the diabetes community.

“There will be positive days, there will be tough days, but you can climb this challenge, and there’s some remarkable people out there whose experiences will really motivate anybody that’s going through tough moments,” he concluded.