Epigenetic effects of extreme intrauterine growth in humans

There is significant interest in the potential that epigenetic dysregulation during fetal development reprograms the individual for susceptibility to adult diseases. The field of study of developmental origins of health and disease (DOHaD) is embracing the use of epigenomic assays to explore this potential mechanistic process. These DOHaD investigations represent part of the spectrum of epigenome-wide association studies (EWAS), a new field of investigation that involves a substantial increase in complexity compared with genome-wide association studies (GWAS). In this report, I describe some of the challenges in experimental design and execution that need to be taken into account to make these studies maximally productive.