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The prevalence of restless legs syndrome in the general population has been estimated to range from 2% to 15%. Since restless legs syndrome can present in many degrees of severity, those with mild symptoms may not even seek medical care so that the reported incidence is only an estimate. Some estimates are that only 3% of patients with restless legs syndrome actually seek treatment. Although restless legs syndrome can start at any age, the mean age of onset is in the late twenties with up to 45% of patients experience their first symptoms before the age of 20. The development of restless legs syndrome increases with age as does the severity of symptoms (older patient experience symptoms more frequently and for longer duration). However, most people do not seek medical attention for restless legs syndrome until middle age or later. The result is that the average age at diagnosis is 53 years old.

Restless leg syndrome is not well recognized among general practitioners and there are reports that less than 7% of general practitioners correctly diagnose restless legs syndrome. This results in many cases of misdiagnosis and lack of diagnosis. It is reported that the average duration from the time a patient seeks help for symptoms until the correct diagnosis is approximately 2 years. This delay is a source of great distress and impaired quality of life for many patients. A diagnosis of restless legs syndrome is most typically made by a neurologist or a specialist in sleep medicine.

The Restless Legs Syndrome Foundation groups restless legs syndrome into three categories:

• Primary or familial - restless legs syndrome runs in the family
• Idiopathic - there is no family history and no otherwise known causes for developing restless legs syndrome
• Secondary - restless legs syndrome is associated with other medical conditions, such as iron deficiency anemia, pregnancy, or medication Clinical features are the same for primary and secondary restless legs syndrome.

The timing of symptoms appearance varies among patients and may occur as either:

• Early onset restless legs syndrome - symptoms typically appear before the age of 45. Usually this type is familial, progresses very slowly and affects women twice as much as men.
• Late onset restless legs syndrome - symptoms appear after the age of 45 and effect men and women equally. Its progression to daily symptoms is typically more rapid than with early onset restless legs syndrome. There is less family history in late onset restless legs syndrome and it is more often secondary to other medical conditions.

There is increasing evidence that restless legs syndrome may be associated with peripheral nerve disease, such as neuropathy or radiculopathy, though until now it was thought of as a condition of the central nervous system.