Thursday, July 9, 2015 9:00am ET by  
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Nick Jonas opens up about diabetes: 'We need to eradicate the stigma'

Singer and actor Nick Jonas has revealed that living with Type 1 diabetes is very challenging and he wants to educate the world about the autoimmune disease. 

Jonas was diagnosed with the life-changing condition when he was just 13 years old and he is now joining forces with a new non-profit organisation to inform people of the facts. 

Nick Jonas shared a statement with Beyond Type 1, which is an organisation that aims to build a supportive community via social media for diabetes sufferers and wants to help "highlight the brilliance of those fighting this disease every day", and opened up about his own journey:

"Nearly ten years ago my life changed dramatically when I was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes. Since then, I learned how to manage and live well with this disease and made it my mission to speak openly about it with the hope of helping others deal with the struggles of managing diabetes in their own life.(sic)'

The 'Chains' sensation went onto add that he wants to enlighten the public on living with diabetes because there's still such a stigma attached to it:

"When I share my personal story, the questions I most often hear are, "What did you eat that gave you diabetes?" or "Does that mean you were lazy as a kid?" Although it's been difficult to deal with the misinformation out there, I always found a way to not let the lack of knowledge surrounding diabetes affect me. I can't do that any longer. Sometimes, something happens in your life and you wonder what good can come of it. These stories will surprise some people and they are meant to. We need to eradicate the stigma that comes from having a chronic illness."

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Watch a recent interview with the superstar here: