There has been a recent explosion of interest in the potential role of epigenetics as a mediator of the long-term effects of an adverse intrauterine environment. Offspring from the Dutch
Famine studied in the seventh decade of life showed increased methylation in seven loci, including igf2 and inisigf (a fusion transcript between the insulin promoter and the igf2 gene that arises from igf2/H19locus in early development), in those exposed to famine preconception, where as exposure in late gestation was associated with increased methylation in only one locus (gnasas).